Warner Bros. Says It Never Promised ‘Matrix Resurrections’ Would Be Only in Theaters

variety.com:

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterWarner Bros. argues in new court filings that it never agreed to an exclusively theatrical release for “The Matrix Resurrections,” and that Village Roadshow still owes $112.5 million in production expenses on the project.The studio is responding to a lawsuit filed last week, in which Village Roadshow alleged that Warner Bros.

had breached its co-financing agreement by releasing the film simultaneously on HBO Max. Village Roadshow accused Warner Bros.

of deliberately sabotaging the film’s box office in order to drive subscribers to the streaming service.Scarlett Johansson made a nearly identical argument in her lawsuit against Disney last July over the day-and-date release of “Black Widow” on Disney Plus.

In that case, Johansson argued that Disney had sacrificed the film’s box office success — shorting her out of millions in incentive-based compensation — in order to benefit its streaming service.