HBO Max reverses course, holds onto DC superhero movies

HBO Max is here, and it’s doing alright. Sure, there aren’t many must-see originals yet, but WarnerMedia’s new streaming service has plenty of good licensed content, including the Studio Ghibli films, HBO’s back catalog, Friends, and a lot more. It also has a slate of DC superhero movies, from Man of Steel to Justice League to Wonder Woman and beyond.

And you’d think it’d be able to hold onto those films, since Warner Bros. made them. But contracts are strange beasts, and many of those movies were scheduled to “rotate out” of HBO Max starting in July.

It’s not a great look when you can’t keep hold of the superhero movies your studio created, especially when Disney can dangle all the Marvel movies in front of Disney+ subscribers. Happily, Deadline reports that HBO Max managed to extend a lot of these movies’ stays on the platform.

Originally, movies like Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad were all getting the come next week. Now, they’ll stay on through December at least. What’s more, HBO Max is importing some new superhero movies, including Zach Snyder’s 2009 adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen as well as the four classic Superman movies starring Christopher Reeves:

Some movies are still on their way out, including all the Batman movies directed by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher, Jonah Hex, The Losers and Halle Berry’s reviled Catwoman. And in 2021, HBO Max will release the Snyder Cut of Justice League, which if it’s as good as everyone keeps saying may eliminate the need for the original altogether.

It’s all part of watching HBO Max fight for streaming dominance with the likes of Netflix and Disney+. We don’t have official HBO Max subscriber numbers yet, but it probably has a ways to go to catch up with its competitors. Given its comparatively high price tag and somewhat confusing rollout, it’s at a bit of a disadvantage, which is why holding on to what draws it does have it so crucial.

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