Netflix and HBO Max are going to battle over rights to stream Godzilla vs. Kong.
Both networks are fighting over who will get to stream the film when it goes online sometime in May. While Netflix has reportedly bid US$200 million for the rights, WarnerMedia is trying to block the deal so it can show it on its own streaming service, HBO Max.
That’s despite the fact that Netflix put up 75 per cent funding for the film, with Warner Bros. only contributing 25 per cent (film licensing is complicated, because Warner still has release rights).
This will be the fourth in the monster franchise, which currently includes 2014’s Godzilla, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and 2019’s Godzilla: King of Monsters.
Godzilla vs. Kong will put the two beasts against each other (for the first time in this now co-joined monster universe). And the film might also feature one of Godzilla’s fiercest foes, Mechagodzilla.
The film is destined to launch in May 21, 2021 in cinemas, however the global pandemic might change that. Regardless, streaming services have only grown stronger over the last year and securing a film like Godzilla vs. Kong would be a real boon for whoever wins.
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