Warner Bros. Sued by Matrix 4 Co-Producer over HBO Max Release

Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has sued Warner Bros. on Monday over the studio’s handling of ‘The Matrix: Resurrections.’

According to the lawsuit, Village Roadshow alleges that the studio tampered with the film’s theatrical release in order to attract more subscribers to HBO Max.

The suit claims that Warner Bros. did not keep Village Roadshow in the loop before deciding to put The Matrix: Resurrections on HBO Max for a simultaneous release.

The lawsuit is a result of Warner Bros.’ decision to release its entire 2021 theatrical slate simultaneously on the streaming service, which also included big titles like Dune, The Suicide Squad, and King Richard.

The move was criticized by many, and WB had to shell out millions to make up for lost box office revenue. However, the suit stated that ‘Village Roadshow has received nothing from the HBO Max release of The Matrix Resurrections.’

The film has grossed just $148 million at the box office to date, far less than the original trilogy’s numbers. Village Roadshow added that this move further enabled piracy, harming the film’s revenue potential.

WB’s strategy not only ensured that ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ would be a bust at the box office, but it also inflicted serious harm to the entire ‘Matrix’ franchise. There can be no doubt that the abysmal theatrical box office sales figures from ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ dilute the value of this tent pole franchise as a film’s lack of profitability generally prevents studios from investing in additional sequels and derivative films in the near term.

The suit mentions the success of Sony’s ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ arguing that an exclusive release strategy would’ve worked even in the pandemic as the two films premiered around the same time.

The suit also added that Village Roadshow is withholding its contractually obligated payment to Warner Bros. because of the alleged breach, seeking a detailed account of WB’s earnings over Matrix Resurrections, including HBO Max’s streaming profits.

Village Roadshow further brought up more disputes regarding their future projects, claiming Warner Bros. has cut out the company from ‘Wonka’ on the basis that it’s not a prequel to ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ and another series based on ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. stated,

This is a frivolous attempt by Village Roadshow to avoid their contractual commitment to participate in the arbitration that we commenced against them last week. We have no doubt that this case will be resolved in our favor.

Filmmakers like Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan have previously criticized WB’s decision to simultaneously release its 2021 slate on HBO Max, calling it “the worst streaming service.”

With the lawsuit, Village Roadshow is planning to seek a declaration from the court that Warner Bros. breached its agreement and entitlement to the “Derivative Rights and all other rights it would have received in The Matrix Resurrections.”

Village Roadshow has previously co-financed with Warner Bros. on projects like the Matrix trilogy, Joker, and the Oceans film series.

About The Matrix: Resurrections

The Matrix: Resurrections will serve as the fourth instalment to the American cyberpunk franchise The Matrix. It is produced, co-written and co-directed by Lana Wachowski who has written for the previous Matrix movies as well.

Keanu Reeves and Carrie Ann-Moss will reprise their roles of Neo and Trinity, respectively. Joining them is Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson.