Village Roadshow sued Warner Bros. on Monday, alleging that the studio sabotaged the theatrical release of “The Matrix Resurrections” to lure subscribers to HBO Max.
Village Roadshow Sues Warner Bros. For HBO Max Show Of Matrix Resurrections
The lawsuit stems from Warner Bros.’s controversial move to streaming the entire 2021 roster, including “Dune,” “The Suicide Squad,” and “King Richard,” on the streaming service at the same time.
To make up for the lost box office revenue, the studio paid out millions of dollars to make a profit for the exhibitors. Village Roadshow has a long-running co-financing deal with the studio over a roster that includes movies like “The Matrix Trilogy,” “Joker,” and “The Oceans Series.” The lawsuit alleges that Warner Bros.
did not consult or give notice to Village Roadshow before choosing to put “The Matrix Resurrections”, the fourth installment in the series, on HBO Max.
The movie has only grossed $148 million at the US box office to date. The lawsuit accuses Warner Bros. of deliberately damaging the movie’s box office to support HBO Max, at the expense of the series’ future viability. The lawsuit states, “The WB’s strategy not only ensured that ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ did not dominate at the box office, but it also severely damaged the entire ‘Matrix’ franchise.
The poor box office sales of ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ led to sequels due to a film’s failure to make a profit. And there’s no doubt that it diminishes the value of the series, as it prevents him from investing in derivative films.” has a claim containing his words.
The lawsuit also states that due to poor box office results, Village Roadshow was unable to make its mandatory contractual payment to Warner Bros. and the company risked losing its rights to the film. The lawsuit alleges that Warner Bros. tried to deprive the company of rights to other films, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Edge of Tomorrow.”
Warner Bros. In a statement, he said he had filed an arbitration lawsuit against Village Roadshow. “This lawsuit is a frivolous attempt by Village Roadshow to evade their contractual commitments to participate in the arbitration we initiated against them last week.
We have no doubt that this lawsuit will work out in our favor,” the studio said. Village Roadshow is seeking a statement from the court that it violated Warner Bros.’s agreement. The company argues that the arbitration agreement does not prevent Village Roadshow from seeking non-monetary assistance in court.
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