WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey
AT&T’s John Stankey Doesn’t Expect Movie Theaters to ‘Snap Back’
April 22, 2020
With Georgia becoming the first state to publicly announce it would allow movie theaters to re-open on April 27, theater chains such as AMC, Regal and Cinemark remain optimistic business can return to some degree of normalcy by July. AT&T COO John Stankey isn’t so sure.
Speaking April 22 on the telecom’s somber fiscal call, Stankey said WarnerMedia is “rethinking the theatrical model,” adding a return to normal for exhibitors won’t “snap back,” and instead could take extended time as consumers slowly regain confidence that sitting in a cineplex isn’t hazardous to their health.
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“I think that’s going to be something that we’re going to have to watch the formation of consumer confidence, not just about going to movies, just in general about being back out in public and understanding what’s occurring there,” Stankey said.
Indeed, Warner Bros. has pushed back release of its highest-profile summer tentpole — Wonder Woman 1984 — to August. Other titles have been delayed to 2021 while animated feature Scoob! is headed to premium VOD on May 15.
King Richard, the Venus and Serena Williams’ biopic starring Will Smith as their father, has been delayed to November 2021. The Many Saints of Newark, a “Sopranos” prequel movie, has also been delayed to next year.
Among other superhero movies, The Batman has been moved to Oct. 1; The Flash has been moved up to June 2, 2022, from July 1; and Shazam! 2 has been pushed back to Nov. 4, 2022, from April 1.
“The theater business is an incredibly stressed business [right now] … it’s hard to generate revenue,” Stankey said.