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Source: Entertainment Weekly
In a world where a deadly pandemic did not grip the world and force much of its businesses and practices to a standstill, both the Warner Brothers superhero movie “Wonder Woman 1984” and the animated Disney/Pixar family film “Soul” would’ve left their mark on the industry the same way any other major Hollywood production would. They would enter theaters on summer weekend with relatively little direct competition, they would score satisfactory opening weekend numbers and continue to generate revenue throughout the following weeks, and they would later become available for home viewing (as both physical media like Blu-Rays and digital means like on a streaming service) for those seeking to return to them on a regular basis. In a more normal world, this would’ve been the fate of these films, and if they were successful enough, there would be no cause for alarm.
Unfortunately, this is not that world. With the COVID-19 forcing movie theaters to be closed throughout most of the year 2020, both “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Soul” have had to repeatedly push back their release dates with the hope that theaters would be safely reopened by then. However, as the year began to wind down, it became increasingly clear that traditional theatrical releases were not feasible at this point in time, and they could not push these films further back without holding up any other productions to be released in the near future. So a difficult decision for both films had been made: on Christmas Day, “Wonder Woman 1984”, while being released into whatever theaters were currently opened, was also made available for streaming on HBO Max (owned by Warner Brothers’ parent company AT&T), while “Soul” would forego the theatrical release entirely and premiere on Disney’s own service Disney+.
While these tactics are similar, they do differ in one key manner: while “Wonder Woman 1984” still provided the option of a theatrical viewing experience (at least for those living where movie theaters are still open), “Soul” did not. With these differences in mind, it begs the question: which one of these blockbusters came out on top? Or does it even matter given the unusual circumstances?
In terms of critical reception, “Soul” is the winner by a long shot. As is the norm for the average Pixar film, which tend to get overwhelmingly positive reception, “Soul”, according to review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, currently has a 96% approval rating with an average score of 8.4/10, with many believing the film has the potential to be a prominent contender in the coming awards season. In contrast, “Wonder Woman 1984” has a 61% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving a score of 6.1/10 on average; this isn’t terrible, but it is considerably less impressive than the reception of “Soul”.
How much did the release through streaming affect the critical reception of these films? Probably not a lot, though it’s not entirely impossible that not being able to experience the films as originally intended in theaters may have had an impact on how immersed a particular viewer may have been when watching the film. Still, as far as studios are concerned, how well the films are received by critics are of no concern compared to how much money the films are able to generate, so the real question is which of these two films proved to be the most profitable. To answer this question, one has to keep in mind that streaming platforms like HBO Max and Disney+ earn their revenue not by charging per individual content, but by monthly subscription fees. If a major release is announced on one of these platforms, then people who aren’t already doing so would agree to pay that monthly fee if only to see this new release. This is how the performance of “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Soul” are being judged: by how many new subscriptions can be obtained through their presence.
In this regard, one may assume that “Wonder Woman 1984” is the definitive winner. In fact, the superhero film quickly went on to generate more customer sign-ups for a streaming service than any other film released in 2020. For comparison, the year’s previous record-holder, the filmed version of the popular stage play “Hamilton” only produced about 71% of the number of sign-ups that “Wonder Woman 1984” had, and the more direct competition, “Soul”, only generated about 35% of those numbers. It’s easy to think that “Wonder Woman 1984” blew “Soul” out of the water, but there are other factors to take into consideration. For one thing, these numbers do not account for the total number of subscribers of either service; in this regard, Disney+’s nearly 87 million subscribers vastly outweighs HBO Max’s 33 million subscribers, so overall, it’s quite possible more people saw “Soul” than “Wonder Woman 1984”. If translated into theoretical ticket sales, “Soul” may have likely crushed “Wonder Woman 1984”.
Another factor to take into consideration is how many of these new subscribers will stay subscribed after watching the films. Fortunately, both Disney+ and HBO Max have a wide variety of films and television programs for subscribers to choose from as a means of encouraging people to keep their accounts activated. Still, there’s no guarantee they’ll do so, and drop-offs are not entirely unexpected in this situation. This was the case for “Hamilton”; after its release, about 25% of new subscribers immediately canceled their accounts after seeing the movie, implying that purchasing a subscription was only to see “Hamilton” and nothing else. It’s not yet clear how many subscribers these services have retained after viewing “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Soul”, but given the incredible number of new films and programs set to come out over the course of the year, it’s clear that both Disney+ and HBO Max are doing everything in their power to keep people tuned in.
It could’ve been so much simpler. Both “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Soul” could’ve been released into theaters, and their success could easily be judged by box office numbers alone. Still, such a situation is not currently possible in the world we live in, and if these films are any indication, determining a film’s success in a COVID-infected world won’t get easier any time soon.
