Cineworld has announced its plans for reopening after the easing of Coronavirus restrictions. Starting its easing in America, Cineworld will begin reopening in early April.
Signing an exclusivity agreement with Warner Bros, Cineworld will begin the reopening showing Godzilla vs. Kong before releasing Mortal Kombat in April.
The agreement will allow the cinema chain to show the films 45 days prior to releasing them online.
This new contractual agreement between Cineworld and Warner Bros. contradicts the company’s earlier attitude towards Universal Pictures.
The cinema will open screening Godzilla vs Kong in early April, followed by Mortal Kombat later that month. Mortal Kombat is a movie adaptation based on a successful video game franchise. Godzilla vs Kong is a spin-off movie whereby the two dominate kaiju monsters will fight to become the alpha monster.
Godzilla vs Kong is based on Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island respectively. The upcoming movie is expected to be well-received internationally, with audiences specifically in Asian countries set to attend cinemas for its upcoming release.
Universal Pictures upset the cinema chain for releasing Trolls: World Tour online after cinemas closed in 2020. Cineworld and AMC Theatres in response both threatened to blacklist any future films by the production company.
However, AMC later reached an agreement with Universal Pictures. Films would first show in cinemas for a selected period before becoming available online.
Interestingly, Warner Bros. also recently reached a similar agreement with streaming platform HBO Max. HBO Max would gain access to streaming movies immediately at the point of release.
Currently, Warner Bros has not confirmed whether either agreement with HBO Max or Cineworld will affect the other.
These movies include Godzilla vs. Kong, starring Millie Bobbie Brown and Alexander Skarsgård and, the highly anticipated Dune that is expected to be released in October 2021.
Directed by Blade Runner 2049’s Denis Villeneuve, Dune stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
