George Clooney, Brad Pitt And Co All Thought Wolfs Was Going To Have A Splashy Movie Theater Release. Why Isn't That Happening?

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We live in an era of Hollywood where it’s been suggested that characters are more important than actors and that the “movie star” of the past may be a dying breed. Having said that, it’s hard to imagine that any movie on the 2024 release calendar starring friends George Clooney and Brad Pitt wouldn’t have serious box office potential. So then, why exactly isn’t Wolfs, the new film starring the duo, going to be in theaters?

When Wolfs was originally announced it was going to be a major theatrical release, but now the movie will only be seen in a limited number of theaters, and only for a week, before the movie arrives for those with an Apple TV+ subscription.

George Clooney And Brad Pitt Were Expecting A Theatrical Release

Back when the first Wolfs trailer was released in the spring, the movie was still planning a major theatrical push. Like previous projects Napoleon and Fly Me to the Moon, it was to be co-distributed by Apple and Sony. The original trailer promised the movie would be in IMAX as well as on standard screens and it would be “exclusively” in theaters. George Clooney and Brad Pitt even gave back some of their salary as a way to help ensure a theatrical release because it was something they wanted.

But last month it was announced that while Apple was confident enough in the movie to already be interested in a Wolfs sequel, they had decided to pull back on the theatrical release. Now the movie will only be in a few theaters for a week, though it will include some IMAX screens, before hitting Apple TV+.

When Wolfs premiered at the Venice Film Festival Clooney, while correcting the record on his Wolfs payday, also spoke about the decision to pull from theaters and while he was clear that a theatrical release was what he had wanted, he said everybody was still “figuring this out” when it came to navigating the modern movie landscape regarding theaters and streaming.

Why Apple Has Made The Change For Wolfs

As far as why Apple has decided not to give Wolfs a major theatrical push, the New York Times reports that it’s because none of Apple’s previous theatrical releases have been particularly successful. Since Apple is sharing costs and revenue with Sony for the distribution, and also has to share box office revenue with the theaters, all of Apple’s big theatrical releases have lost money for Apple.

Meanwhile, The Instigators, a recent Apple TV+ movie starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, is credited with adding 50,000 subscribers for Apple. It's reported to have been the most-watched streaming movie on any platform during its week of release, though no official numbers have been released by Apple.

Perhaps, if the Wolfs sequel does happen, the industry will be in a different place when it comes out, and a theatrical release will be more viable.