The Village Roadshow is suing Warner Bros. over the simultaneous release ofThe Matrix Resurrections, according to an exclusive report inThe Wall Street Journal(that is hidden behind a paywall). The primary complaint of the lawsuit relates to Warner Media chief Jason Kilar’s “Project Popcorn,” a pandemic era initiative that offered all of Warner Bros.' 2021 theatrical releases simultaneously on HBO Max for the first 31 days of theatrical release. According to the WSJ report, although Warner Bros. paid out over $200 million in new compensation to people talent in the 2021 theatrical line-up, includingThe Little Things,The Suicide Squad, andReminiscence; however, people involved withThe Matrix Resurrections(at least not Village Roadshow) did not receive the same additional compensation.
The Village Roadshow lawsuit claims thatThe Matrix Resurrections"performed disappointingly at the box office, garnering only a fraction of the revenue generated by its predecessors." That’s true.The Matrix Resurrectionsearned just $38 million domestic and $155 million, compared to $171 million/$469 million forThe Matrix, $281 million/$742 million forThe Matrix Reloaded, and $138 million/$429 million forThe Matrix Revolutions, according toForbes. However, that’s not the only thing the court may consider for the lawsuit; they will also consider how the film performed compared to other theatrical releases that came out during the same period and other movies released through a simultaneous release format. The Forbes article also goes over these points in detail, disputing the lawsuit’s claim that, “Other films released during the pandemic performed well at the box office, including “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which unlike “The Matrix Resurrections” wasn’t released on a streaming platform when it came out in theaters.”
Warner Bros. Says the Lawsuit is ‘Frivolous’
Some things shouldn’t be about profit, but public safety and access. In America and elsewhere in the world, access for the disabled, elderly, and marginalized is even a right. These lawsuits are clinging to a bygone era where COVID-19 isn’t a constant reality, and as long as the government prioritizes personal choice over public safety, which seems likely considering the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the federal mandate requiring the vaccine for private employers, movie theaters will remain unsafe for the disabled.
With60 percent of Americans being high riskand withLGBTQ+ Americans being more susceptible to chronic conditions, it seems especially unwarranted to fight this battle withThe Matrix Resurrections, a film directed by an out trans woman,Lana Wachowski. In the Village Roadshow lawsuit, the company said that it co-owns intellectual property rights on almost 100 films, and the company has paid more than $4.5 billion to Warner Bros. to produce and distribute for 25 years.
“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," Warner Bros. said in a statement. “We have no doubt that this case will be resolved in our favor.”
