Warner Bros. has ruled the box office in recent months despite its movies streaming simultaneously on HBO Max

• Warner Bros. has dominated the box office even as its movies are streaming at no extra cost on HBO Max.
• Its movies have topped four of the five biggest domestic box-office weekends during the pandemic.
• But it's too soon to say whether this proves the studio's hybrid strategy is working.

The US box office has been upended during the pandemic, but there has been a noticeable winner among the major Hollywood studios: Warner Bros.

When Warner Bros. announced in December that it would release all of its 2021 movies (and that month's "Wonder Woman 1984") to HBO Max and theaters simultaneously, the decision was met with harsh criticism in Hollywood.

But since then, Warner Bros. has been reaping the rewards of its big bet. That said, it's too soon to say whether the studio's success during the pandemic proves its hybrid distribution strategy works, or if it's simply the fact that Warner Bros. has released movies on a more consistent basis than its rivals that are holding movies for later in the year.

Data from the media analytics company Comscore broke down the biggest weekends at the domestic box office since March 20, 2020 - when theaters in the US shut down for months - to this most recent weekend.

Warner Bros. movies topped the box office for four of the top five weekends in that time period, and all four movies were part of the studio's streaming/theatrical hybrid strategy.

"The big question is whether these new strategies and their resultant successful outcomes are the product of this unprecedented and challenging marketplace, and are as such to be considered an anomaly or as a new trend going forward," said Paul Dergarabedian, the Comscore senior media analyst.

Below are the top five weekends in terms of total box-office gross during the pandemic, according to Comscore (and how much the top movie that weekend earned):

1. April 2-4: $43.9 million total gross (Warner Bros.' "Godzilla vs. Kong" - $31.6 million)
2. April 9-11: $26.1 million ("Godzilla vs. Kong" - $13.9 million)
3. March 5-7: $24.0 million (Disney's "Raya and the Last Dragon" - $8.5 million)
4. December 25-27: $23.8 million (Warner Bros.' "Wonder Woman 1984" - $16.7 million)
5. February 26-28: $20.4 million (Warner Bros.' "Tom and Jerry" - $14.1 million)

Warner Bros. isn't the only studio to experiment with distribution strategies during the pandemic.

Universal has negotiated with theater chains like AMC Theatres, the world's largest, to shorten the exclusive theatrical window from the typical 75 days to just 17 in most cases. That means it can choose to release its movies to digital-rental platforms after three weekends in theaters. It's found some success from this, especially with the animated sequel "Croods: A New Age," which has grossed $56 million in the US.

Disney has experimented with a few models, particularly using a $30 "Premier Access" fee to gate blockbuster movies on Disney Plus.

"Mulan" wasn't released to theaters in the US (it was available on Disney Plus with a "Premier Access" fee) and underperformed internationally with $67 million. But "Mulan" drove double the sign-ups in its first weekend in September on Disney Plus compared to the previous four weekends, according to data from the analytics company Antenna.

Disney tried a slightly different strategy with "Raya and the Last Dragon," which it released simultaneously to theaters and Disney Plus (at an additional "Premier Access" fee), but the movie has underwhelmed at the box office. It's made $35 million domestically, a disappointing result for a Disney animated movie, even during the pandemic. It also didn't seem to spark a boost in Disney Plus sign-ups, as there was a 30% decline in signups the weekend it premiered, according to Antenna.

But of all the major studios, it's been Warner Bros. that has driven the biggest box-office weekends of the pandemic, despite its movies also streaming on HBO Max at no additional cost.

"Godzilla vs. Kong," which cost $200 million to produce, has crossed $70 million at the domestic box office (and is nearing $350 million worldwide), and HBO Max said the movie drove the largest audience in its first four days of any title since the service launched last May. And while "Wonder Woman 1984" eventually slowed at the box office with $46 million domestically ($162 million worldwide), Antenna data suggested that it boosted HBO Max.

"The success of 'Godzilla vs. Kong' was created by a perfect storm of consumer confidence coupled with a studio strategy that hit the sweet spot at a time when the economy is opening up and the pent-up demand for outside-the home-entertainment is at a high point," Dergarabedian said.

That could bode well for Warner Bros. the rest of the year as it releases "Mortal Kombat," "The Suicide Squad," "Space Jam: A New Legacy," and more to theaters and Max.

But the marketplace will look different moving forward.

If release dates stick, Warner Bros. won't be the only studio releasing big-budget tentpoles come summer. Universal has "Fast and Furious 9" set for theatrical release in June and Disney will be releasing "Black Widow" simultaneously to theaters and Disney Plus "Premier Access" in July.

It may be harder for Warner Bros. to dominate the box office as the theatrical market inches towards some sense of normalcy.