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Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman in “Wonder Woman 1984”.

Warner bros.

“Wonder Woman 1984” hit theaters on Christmas Day, securing the highest box office opening of any domestic film since the coronavirus pandemic crippled the entertainment industry in mid-March.

On Sunday, Warner Bros. announced that the film was worth $ 16.7 million in the United States and Canada. “Wonder Woman 1984” was one of the first major Hollywood blockbusters to be released in theaters and streaming on the same day.

Simultaneous release should accommodate a limited number of open theaters, limited seating capacity, and a broad public that continues to be afraid of returning to theaters.

Warner & Bros. mom AT&T said Sunday that nearly half of HBO Max subscribers saw “Wonder Woman 1984” on Christmas Day. Retail subscribers are those who purchase the streaming service directly, not through a cable or other streaming subscription.

As of October, HBO Max had around 3.6 million direct retail customers. It is unclear how many additional subscribers the company gained prior to the release of Wonder Woman 1984 on the platform.

“Wonder Woman 1984 broke records in the first 24 hours of service and exceeded our expectations for all major ad and subscriber metrics. The interest and momentum we’re seeing suggest this is likely well beyond the weekend will continue, “said Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer division. “In these very difficult times, it was nice to give families the opportunity to enjoy this uplifting movie at home where going to the theater wasn’t an option.”

The movie’s box office hit prompted the studio to accelerate a third installment in the Wonder Woman franchise, the company said. It’s written and directed by Patty Jenkins, who directed the previous two films and made it clear to the New York Times last week that she wouldn’t be returning to the franchise if a theatrical model wasn’t possible for the film.

At the beginning of the weekend, analysts weren’t sure the film could top the nearly $ 10 million that “The Croods: A New Age” had secured on the opening weekend during Thanksgiving. There were concerns that HBO Max audience numbers could be grossly cannibalizing ticket sales.

Despite the gross grossing, fans and critics are concerned about Warner Bros.’s DC Extended Universe.

A week before its US debut, Wonder Woman 1984 had a rating of 88% “Fresh” out of 92 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes review page. As of Sunday afternoon, that score dropped from 285 ratings to 65%.

While the film’s star, Gal Gadot, received widespread acclaim, the film itself has been condemned for its poor story, plot inconsistencies, and inferior CGI.

For comparison, the first Wonder Woman movie released in 2017 scored 93%, the highest of any movie in the DC Extended Universe. Private watch parties and large format screens like IMAX and Dolby were the most popular way for moviegoers to see the latest movie over the vacation weekend, the company said.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Dreamworks Animation, the studio behind The Croods: A New Age, and Rotten Tomatoes.

Correction: Warner Bros. mom AT&T said Sunday that nearly half of HBO Max subscribers saw “Wonder Woman 1984” on Christmas Day.

Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Adidas, told CNBC that the German sportswear company will continue to invest in brick and mortar stores despite the boom in e-commerce sales during the coronavirus pandemic.

“There is no doubt that online business has accelerated in two to three years in the future … but I think if you ask most people, going out and shopping is a great social element and the products are easy to see and feel again, “Rorsted said in an interview that aired on Closing Bell on Wednesday.

“So we’re going to keep building stores. We’ll announce that in March next year, where we’re going to build and create a great store experience,” he added.

Adidas posted a 51% increase in online sales in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. This followed a 93% increase in the second quarter, despite total sales decreasing 34% on a currency-neutral basis. For the year, Adidas plans online sales of more than 4 billion euros (4.9 billion US dollars), said Rorsted, a significant improvement from around 1 billion euros about four years ago.

Rorsted, Adidas CEO since 2016, said the company’s growing e-commerce strength will affect the in-store shopping experience going forward. “We believe the stores are still here, but much closer to the online experience,” he said. “I think most people are really bored of sitting at home,” added Rorsted.

Adidas announced earlier this week that it has initiated a “strategic alternative evaluation” process for Reebok, including a potential sale of the brand, which it acquired in 2006. Rorsted told CNBC that the pandemic was “not at all” the reason Adidas decided to rethink its approach with Reebok. Rather, he claimed that the health crisis had actually improved the underlying fundamentals of the sporting goods industry, as more and more people wear casual clothing while working from home and taking up outdoor recreational activities.

“I think there will still be a long way to go before people want to get back into suits and brown shoes. This trend continued. There is no doubt that the pandemic really accelerated this,” said Rorsted. “Working from home and having a much more casual lifestyle is a big part of a lot of the clothes we have,” he added.