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Thanks to a distribution deal that predates Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Free Guy will go to HBO Max first when it leaves theaters.
Although Free Guy is a Disney film, its streaming debut after it concludes its exclusive theatrical run will be on HBO Max, not Disney+, thanks to its origins as a 20th Century Fox property.
During a quarterly earnings call on Aug. 12, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said, “We acquired [Free Guy] under a different distribution assumption and set of agreements,” as reported by Variety. That included the obligation to release Free Guy exclusively in theaters and then on HBO Max, under the terms of a partnership between the 20th Century Fox film studio and WarnerMedia.
That distribution agreement, which was renewed in 2012 for 10 years, holds even though Disney bought 20th Century Fox and several other assets of parent company 21st Century Fox in 2018. The agreement also prevents Disney from placing Free Guy on Disney+ Premier Access while it is in theaters. “We don’t have the degree of freedom to do [a Premier Access release] on Free Guy,” Chapek said.
This also affects other pending 2021 20th Century Studios films that Disney has in the pipeline, like Ron’s Gone Wrong, The Last Duel and the remake of West Side Story.
Free Guy will have a 45-day window in theaters, but its placement after that is not established — whether or not it might bypass the typical course of a DVD/Blu-Ray/digital purchase and rental release and go directly to HBO and HBO Max. Only the theatrical release is confirmed, said a Disney spokesperson.
Directed by Shawn Levy from a script by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds as Guy, Jodie Comer as Milly, Joe Keery as Keys, Lil Rel Howery as Buddy, Utkarsh Ambudkar as Mouser and Taika Waititi as Antoine. The film arrives in theaters Aug. 13.
Source: Variety
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