Warner Bros. & Legendary near settlement over Godzilla Vs. Kong release

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

It looks like Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment are learning to play nice with each other. It appears that the two entities are close to settling their fight over the release strategy for Godzilla vs. Kong. Legendary financed the $200 million-plus production at 75% and they were none too happy when Warner Bros. announced that the film, along with 16 other 2021 releases, would be heading to HBO Max and theaters simultaneously. The two entities are poised to work out of a deal that will maintain this release strategy but the exact details of the deal weren't made available as of this writing.

Legendary and the film industry at large had at out for WarnerMedia when they made their surprise December 3 announcement to put their entire 2021 theatrical release calendar in both theaters and the HBO Max streaming services. The decision was made without really notifying the necessary parties, particularly a company like Legendary that put up a lot of money to help Godzilla vs. Kong get made. Legendary was looking to box office profits to make back what they put into the film and that becomes an issue when the film also makes a streaming debut because it ultimately will put a dent into the film's overall box office take. All of the parties involved are aware that we're in the middle of a global pandemic and that moviegoing is not going to be normal for quite some time but, if WarnerMedia was going to make a move like this, a new deal needed to be made that would benefit Legendary. That wasn't on the table initially but that appears to be working itself out now.

Legendary also helped finance Denis Villeneuve's Dune and, according to "Deadline", the theatrical and HBO Max day-and-date is still being worked out between WarnerMedia and Legendary. I'm assuming since a deal is being reached with Godzilla vs. Kong, a deal can't be too far behind for the highly-anticipated sci-fi adaptation that is scheduled for release on October 1, 2021. That being said, deals still need to be made with the ensemble cast as well which includes Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, and many others. Also complicating a potential deal with Dune is that Villeneuve is still pushing for a theatrical release so we will have to see how this all plays out. 

What are YOUR thoughts on Warner Bros. and Legendary reaching an agreement on Godzilla vs. Kong?