Wonder Woman 1984 will land on streaming platform HBO Max in the US on Christmas Day, as well as be released in cinemas, Warner Bros has confirmed.
It is unclear when or how the film will arrive in the UK, although the studios said it will launch the film internationally on 16 December.
The film’s hybrid release comes at a testing time for cinemas, with many closed due to the coronavirus outbreak with no opening date in sight.
The film will now release online and in the cinema on Christmas Day in the US. Pic: Warner Bros Pictures
Cineworld, which operates cinemas in the UK and US has shuttered all of its sites, leaving 45,000 people looking for jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, while Odeon has moved to a weekend opening only approach.
Audiences are reluctant to visit cinemas amid the pandemic, leaving studios with difficult decisions on whether or not to release their films.
The release of Wonder Woman 1984 had already been delayed several times as a result of the pandemic, but will now be available in people’s home on 25 December.
Director Patty Jenkins shared the news of Wonder Woman 1984’s new release date on Twitter and said: “THE TIME HAS COME. At some point you have to choose to share any love and joy you have to give, over everything else.
“We love our movie as we love our fans, so we truly hope that our film brings a little bit of joy and reprieve to all of you this holiday season.
“Watch it IN THEATRES, where it is made safe to do so (check out the great work theatres have done to make it so!) and available in the safety of your own home on HBO MAX where it is not.
“Happy holidays to all of you. We hope you enjoy our film as much as we enjoyed making it.”
The new film is a follow up to the 2017 Wonder Woman film, starring Gal Gadot, which grossed more than $821 million (£620 million) worldwide.
Disney had previously released its live-action remake of Mulan on its streaming platform, Disney+, in October after a planned theatrical release was cancelled, while Universal Studios released animated film Trolls World Tour on both streaming services and cinemas in April.
Tenet, starring Robert Pattinson, has been the only major cinematic release during the pandemic, but was widely seen as a disappointment at the box office.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond in No Time To Die has also been repeatedly pushed back, and was originally due to release in April this year. It will now hit screens in April 2021.