Patty Jenkins Says She Won’t Make a Film for Netflix, Isn’t ‘Fan of Day-and Date’ Model

“Wonder Woman 1984″ director Patty Jenkins didn’t mince words during a Thursday chat at this week’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas. First, she spoke candidly about her experience with the sequel going straight to HBO Max day-and-date with theaters.

“It was the best choice in a bunch of bad choices at the moment” and a “heartbreaking experience,” Jenkins said, according to Deadline from a report on the ground. Like the rest of Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate, most of the studio’s 2020 titles went straight to the streaming platform. “Wonder Woman 1984” ended up being watched by nearly four million households, but Jenkins said the hybrid release was “detrimental to the movie.”

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She added, “I don’t think it plays the same on streaming, ever,” and said, “I’m not a fan of day-and-date and I hope to avoid it forever.”

Jenkins, whose 2017 original “Wonder Woman” grossed more than $822 million globally up against the sequel’s $165 million, said, “I make movies for the big-screen experience.”

To that end, when asked if she will ever make a movie for Netflix, meaning one with a short theatrical window followed by release on the streaming platform, she said, “I won’t make one.”

Jenkins added, “I like working with Netflix for television, I wouldn’t make a movie there or any streaming service with those terms. It’s hard to market a movie when it has a limited run.” (Jenkins has directed episodes of TV including on the shows “Arrested Development,” “Entourage,” “The Killing,” and “I Am the Night,” but hasn’t worked on a Netflix series.)

Jenkins is currently at work on prepping for the upcoming “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron,” and also has “Wonder Woman 3” and a big-screen version of “Cleopatra” that’s long been in the works.

From IndieWire’s wrap report out of CinemaCon: “Exhibitors’ and distributors’ joint search for solutions forced them to improve their communication. Studio bosses, who take their cues from Wall Street, lean toward streaming. Outspoken Warners’ critics Chris Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Patty Jenkins — who told a panel she hopes to ‘forever’ avoid seeing another one of her movies stream day-and-date — and many other filmmakers want to make deals that lean into theatrical. (In 2022, Warners movies in theaters will retain a 45-day window; others will go straight to HBO Max.)”

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