Village Roadshow Suing Warner Bros Over Sad Matrix Resurrections; After Months of Promotion on HBOMAX!

It’s time to point fingers since the Matrix Resurrections reboot didn’t pan out to be the success they were planning on. The movie was good, not great, but good with potential to be better for a second film. However the fight scene were lackluster and poorly shot – they did not stand up to the originals innovative envelope pushing ideas. There were a few envelope pushing scenes but not enough to standout.

It appears that Village Roadshow is now blaming HBOMAX after months of promotion that Matrix Resurrections would be released simultaneously with the theatrical release over 9 months before its official streaming and theatrical release in December.

Did Village Roadshow forget that HBOMAX had released a trailer in early 2021 telling subscribers that the film would be on the streaming service? Are they really trying to say they didn’t know or is this a ploy so they can point the finger at HBOMAX to justify a sequel?

CelebnMovies247.com reports Warner Bros is being sued by co-financiers Village Roadshow over the hybrid release of the sci-fi sequel The Matrix Resurrections.

All of Warner’s 2021 titles, which included the fourth Matrix film were released on the big screen and the company’s streaming service, HBO Max, as a response to the pandemic. A complaint put forward by Village Roadshow claims that the decision destroyed any box office chances in December.

The Matrix Resurrections, which reunited stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, made just $37m in the US and has just crossed $153m worldwide. The budget is believed to be around $190m.

Its predecessors all made way over that and The Matrix Reloaded made more than $740m in 2003.

That being said, Reloaded came when The Matrix was at an all time high and everyone wanted to see what was happening next. After the third film fans wanted a forth, but it took 18 years later, a whole two decades, a new group of kids who had no clue about the first three because they weren’t born yet. This film was nothing new, but very interesting as well as intriguing with the character additions.

However the suit by Roadshow claims by blaming Warner Bros.:

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.

Like we said, blaming WB is their chance to get a second film.

The Guardian reports:

Reviews for The Matrix Resurrections were mixed on release, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “a heavy-footed reboot which doesn’t offer a compelling reason for its existence”.

The film was originally scheduled to be released in April 2022 but was moved to the end of 2021, a decision that the complaint alleges was intended to “create a desperately needed wave of year-end HBO Max premium subscriptions”. Two weeks ago, Warner revealed that HBO Max had gained more than 5 million US subscribers in 2021, up 35% over the past 24 months.

Village Roadshow is claiming breach of contract and alleging that Warner is also “devising various schemes” to deprive them of rights to follow-ups to other co-owned films such as sequels to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edge of Tomorrow. The company has invested more than $4.5bn in a partnership that has lasted for more than 20 years.

The studio said in response:

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.

The suit follows a fractious year in Hollywood as studios released tentpole films on streaming services at the same time as in cinemas as Covid continued to affect audience turnout.

Warner Bros. 2022 films will mostly be launched theatrical-only with some possible exceptions.