Netflix and Warner fight for the distribution right of “Godzilla vs. King Kong”

The behemoth battle in the film industry is exciting: Netflix and Warner will compete for the distribution rights of “Godzilla vs. King Kong” over the legendary movie.

Turning to the 2021 movie viewing guide, monster fans only care if “Godzilla vs. King Kong” can be successfully released on May 21.

It seems that if you want to watch Godzilla and the King Kong War on the big screen on the IMAX8 floor, I am afraid they are a little disappointed: it is very likely that this movie will not be shown in theaters.

But the bigger question is, which series of online platforms will “Godzilla vs. King Kong” appear on? The battle between Netflix and Warner – the price bidding war looks brilliant, comparable to the monster war.

1. “Godzilla vs. King Kong” will not be seen in theaters?

Another authoritative Hollywood media person who buried hidden piles at Warner’s top level revealed that this report is: “For Netflix to transfer “Godzilla vs. King Kong” to an online platform, it will cost more than $200 million.”

Now, Warner Pictures is still in the endless list of films, and it seems that Warner hopes that “Godzilla vs. King Kong” can be released on its own online platform HBOMax.

During the confrontation with the two major movie giants, the legendary film company responsible for the production of “Godzilla vs. King Kong” chose to be silent. A Warner Pictures spokesperson said:

“We still follow the original plan and plan to release “Godzilla vs. King Kong” through theaters next year.”

Legendary Film Company declined to comment on this public statement that should be assured.

In our legendary monster world, “Godzilla vs. King Kong” is the fourth and final one.

Adam Wingaard, who is good at directing horror films, is responsible for directing the production, and he also made a breakthrough with horror films.

The film will officially open in June 2018. Millie Bibran, Kyle Chandler and Zhang Ziyi from the previous film “Godzilla 2: King of Monsters” will return, while Alexander Kosca, ” “Deadpool 2” Julie Dennison and “The Nun” actor Damian Beecher will also join them, which can be described as beaming.

Less than half a year later, the movie was announced in November 2018. “Godzilla vs. King Kong” is scheduled to be released in March 2020, and later announced in the summer of 2019 that it will be postponed to May 22, 2020…

Then you know, due to a serious disease outbreak, “Godzilla vs. King Kong” was changed to November 20.

Then, “Godzilla vs. King Kong” will be released on May 21, 2021. What will happen? No one knows whether it will be released.

The reason everyone is confused about this is because of Wonder Woman: Warner Entertainment announced that “Wonder Woman 1984” will also be released on HBOMax on December 25.

Nowadays, large film companies rarely adopt this “same-day release” strategy. The CEO of Warner Entertainment believes that this is “unprecedented” and is likely to become a part of Warner’s “new life for epidemic prevention”.

The movie can be shown in theaters that are allowed to operate, or in areas where the epidemic is still severe, so that the audience can watch it in other ways.

For Warner, they can still profit through various channels. Even on the Internet platforms that mainstream film production companies did not pay attention to in the past, there have been many examples in recent months to prove that this strategy is feasible.

The film industry can even make a lot of money. Although this is undoubtedly abandoning the film industry that shared difficulties in the past, in the current recession, the decision to go with the situation is not excessive.

2. Netflix and Warner each take what they need and make their own moves.

Looking back at the war between Netflix and Warner, the US$200 million Netflix is ​​undoubtedly a huge red envelope – the previous title “Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters” has only 110 million in the US at the box office, which is far less than its $170 million cost. , And even with an overseas box office of US$270 million and a total box office of US$380 million, its results in the United States are far less than the US$500 million take-off movies “Godzilla” and “King Kong: Skull Island”.

Can “Godzilla vs. King Kong” regain audience confidence? Or is it just the satisfaction of a small group of customers to comfort monster fans? No one can be sure, but no one can guarantee 100% optimism.

Looking at the timeline we mentioned before, you will find that as early as June 2018, Godzilla vs. King Kong officially started, and its production budget definitely exceeded 100 million US dollars. It has been more than 2 years now. Retracted.

For Legend Films, this is a serious problem that cannot be ignored. It needs to pay 75% of the cost, while Warner Pictures only pays 25% of the cost.

But Warner controls the right to issue, and also controls life and death. If Warner does not issue, Legend will not be able to recover the cost.

And at this moment, Netflix’s seemingly abrupt bid of 200 million US dollars is actually like a timely rain from the legendary film company.

Even if the legendary film company takes 200 million US dollars, it can at least guarantee that “Godzilla vs. King Kong” will not make them lose money, and now, it can’t guarantee a global hit-look at “Tian Neng” still can not save The tragedy of the cinema.

Even if Legendary Pictures chooses to pay out, at least they received a big red envelope a year earlier than their Hollywood counterparts.

Since the box office revenue of “Godzilla vs. King Kong” has not yet reached expectations, and it is impossible to shoot the next Godzilla movie, the legendary film company chose to leave Warner and turn to Netflix. This is a reasonable and quick solution.

3. Which Chinese market does Hollywood most want to compete for?

This is not easy. Don’t forget that the Chinese like monsters: Last year, “Godzilla 2: King of Monsters” was released in China, and the box office reached 70 million US dollars on the weekend of the premiere, twice the amount in 2014.

Finally, the film’s box office in China reached 130 million US dollars, not only surpassing the United States, but also more than one-third of the global box office.

But if “Godzilla vs. King Kong” is released on Netflix, then Chinese friends will cry – Netflix has not yet entered the Chinese market.

This situation is different from “Wonder Woman 1984”, we can still see it being released on the big screen in overseas regions not affected by the epidemic.

But if today’s movies are changed to Netflix, then these movies will almost certainly not be shown in theaters, and, if there are, they are usually limited in time.

Netflix’s “Rome” was only shown in theaters for a short period of time. This is the only example.

What if the legendary film company ignored the temptation from Netflix? Then they must accept the status quo of Warner Pictures’ current “Nud Bodhisattva Crossing the River”: Warner Pictures has already had a large number of strong blockbuster films forced to postpone the release, and “Godzilla vs. King Kong” will be released in May next year. Obviously it will be postponed again-in the United States, this outbreak may not get better yet.

What’s more, there have been new outbreaks in Shanghai and other places recently, which may lead to a series of forced theater closure strategies by the Chinese government, causing the box office of “Godzilla vs. King Kong” to suffer severe losses in Chinese theaters.

In addition, don’t forget that China not only can’t see Netflix, but also HBOMax now.

To be honest, our fantasy “Godzilla vs. King Kong” plot is not as complicated as the plot encountered by the legendary film company now.

Now, the legendary film industry at the feet of the two giants of Netflix and Warner is like a human at the feet of Godzilla and King Kong, and I can’t help but think of this sad line:

“No matter which of them wins in the end, we will lose.”

I hope this movie can be released successfully. At least we can see that this may be the last strategic cooperation between Godzilla and King Kong in the next few years.