Village Roadshow is suing Warner Bros. on Monday, alleging that Warner Bros. sabotaged the theatrical release of The Matrix Resurrections by releasing the film on HBO Max without consulting Village Roadshow, Variety reports.
The Matrix: Resurrections, the fourth entry in the Matrix franchise, grossed $148 million at the box office, a mere fourth of what even critically panned The Matrix Revolutions grossed. Village Roadshow has a co-financing agreement with Warner Bros. on films like the Matrix trilogy and Joker.
“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,” the suit alleges. “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 also alleges that releasing Resurrections on HBO Max encouraged piracy, further cutting into Resurrections' box office gross.
Village Roadshow has received no profit from The Matrix Resurrections being put on HBO Max, the suit alleges. Other allegations include That due to poor box office performance, Village Roadshow cannot make its contractually obligated payment to Warner Bros., which threatens the company's right to the film, and that Warner Bros. has allegedly been seeking to deprive Village Roadshow of its rights to other films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edge of Tomorrow.
Warner Bros. released a statement saying it had brought an arbitration case against Village Roadshow.
“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,” the studio said. “We have no doubt that this case will be resolved in our favor.”
Village Roadshow is seeking a declaration from the court that WB is in breach of its fiduciary duties, and that Village Roadshow is entitled to rights it would receive from The Matrix Resurrections.
You can read the full lawsuit here.
Continue reading...
The Matrix: Resurrections, the fourth entry in the Matrix franchise, grossed $148 million at the box office, a mere fourth of what even critically panned The Matrix Revolutions grossed. Village Roadshow has a co-financing agreement with Warner Bros. on films like the Matrix trilogy and Joker.
“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,” the suit alleges. “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 also alleges that releasing Resurrections on HBO Max encouraged piracy, further cutting into Resurrections' box office gross.
Village Roadshow has received no profit from The Matrix Resurrections being put on HBO Max, the suit alleges. Other allegations include That due to poor box office performance, Village Roadshow cannot make its contractually obligated payment to Warner Bros., which threatens the company's right to the film, and that Warner Bros. has allegedly been seeking to deprive Village Roadshow of its rights to other films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Edge of Tomorrow.
Warner Bros. released a statement saying it had brought an arbitration case against Village Roadshow.
“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,” the studio said. “We have no doubt that this case will be resolved in our favor.”
Village Roadshow is seeking a declaration from the court that WB is in breach of its fiduciary duties, and that Village Roadshow is entitled to rights it would receive from The Matrix Resurrections.
You can read the full lawsuit here.
Continue reading...