HBO Max has been in news quite a bit recently for the wrong reasons. First, Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to cancel two of its projectsThe BatgirlScooby-Doo animated film and movie Scoob: Holiday HauntDespite the fact that both were in production. Now it looks like there’s a lot of other content that we won’t be seeing on HBO MaxWe didn’t expect it. It appears the decision has been made to delay some theatrical films release on the service, including Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
Warner Bros. was the first studio to devise a plan for theatrical distribution in the wake of the pandemic. All movies would hit HBO Max within 45 days after their debuts in theaters. HBO Max has the WB 2020 slate released day and dateThis decision was taken under the WB’s previous regime, according to sources. DeciderThe new bosses decided to manage HBO Max releases on a “case by case” basis. Some films might not start streaming immediately after release.
This new plan has already caused the first casualty. ElvisStarring Austin Butler as King of Rock and Roll and Tom Hanks playing Col. Tom Parker. According to the old plan, the film was supposed to be available on HBO Max next Wednesday. However, it has been removed. It has been confirmed that the film will not be available on HBO Max next week. ElvisHBO Max will be available at some point. No new release date has been set.
This is a bummer for anyone who was excited to watch it. ElvisHBO Max and anyone else who subscribed to HBO Max in the hope that they could quickly access theatrical releases. This is a major selling point of the service.
While it’s potentially understanding why WBD might want to hold of on releasing some movies on HBO Max, if they’re successful at the box office, the studio isn’t going to want to undercut that by releasing the movie at home too soon, the fact is that most studios followed suit after WB made this move. Universal also handles Peacock releasesDisney releases everything on a case-by case basis. LightyearTo Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessIt was worth nearly $1 billion worldwide.You can expect to be there for around 45 days.
Clearly, Warner Bros. has seen a lot change under its new management. and it’s going to be a while before the dust settles and we have a good handle on what things will look like going forward on both the theatrical and streaming side of things. Maybe it’ll be the rare movie that takes more than 45 days to reach HBO Max. Or maybe many of them will be delayed. If the movies do well in theaters, on VOD/Bluray, and the loss in HBO Max subscriptions are minimal, it may look like what was. “new normal”It may be possible to go back to how it was before.