It just managed to round up to $5 million in ticket sales
The Many Saints of Newark is among the latest Warner Bros. films to show the negative effects when you release a movie on theatres and on streaming platforms together. The movie, which serves as a prequel to the award-winning HBO series The Sopranos, only received $5 million in ticket sales domestically.
Even though the movie received mixed reviews, due to its R-rating and connection to a series that ended more than ten years ago, experts predicted low box office numbers. Domestic expectations ranged between $7 million and $12 million.
How did it fare in HBO Max?
One main reason for the movie to earn such low numbers may be due to it’s free streaming on HBO Max. The movie was highly-anticipated, and it resulted in it getting a lot of views on HBO Max. The analyt was Paul Deregarabedian, the senior media analyst at Comscore. Everyone who got obsessed with The Sopranos made sure to watch the movie from the comfort of their homes, said Paul.
The studio didn’t comment when CNBC reached out about the movie.
Warner Bros’ error
Most studios decided to make films available for both theatres and streaming platforms. It worked well when vaccination rates were high and moviegoers weren’t confident to watch in theatres. But now that the majority got vaccinated, things have changed.
While other movies have started exclusive theatre release, Warner Bros. didn’t change their plans. The Suicide Squad, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and In The Heights did well in HBO Max but received poor numbers at the box office.
But Warner Bros. did reveal that they will return to cinema-only in 2022 back in July.
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