To win the rights to a new movie starring Will Smith as Serena and Venus Williams’s father, AT&T Inc.’s Warner Bros. had to agree to a nonnegotiable demand from the star, according to people familiar with the talks: The studio would release the film theatrically before streaming it online. As streaming services proliferate, major Hollywood stars have become increasingly concerned with how certain movies are distributed, seeking guarantees that their higher-profile—and perhaps award-worthy—work gets the attention that generally...

Source: Wall Street Journal May 02, 2019 15:00 UTC