This kind of thing happens often when a company with a niche decides it's going to try and expand into a different industry by acquiring a company. There's a lot of unwritten rules you have to adhere to and a culture that you have to respect.

With Hollywood, it's incredibly unionized.... except for CGI and VFX.... which is really the only aspect of a Hollywood film that you can really meddle with costs without getting in trouble. Actors, directors and producers all want their cut and after RDJ earned $250M off of Marvel Studios.... everyone wants a bigger cut.

Then comes in AT&T who want to transform Hollywood into a premium streaming experience and absolutely shocked that all the actors and directors want a theatrical release and would prefer it to the guarantees of streaming money.