HBO Max is set to air 10 exclusive Warner Bros. movies on release day. WarnerMedia has already decided to debut all of its films in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021, and now that trend will continue into 2022.
10 Warner Bros. Movies Are Coming to a Couch Near You
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar spoke about the exclusive content coming to HBO Max during AT&T's second-quarter earnings call. Kilar highlighted the importance of a movie's success both in theaters and at home.
"The motion picture format absolutely matters, and it matters in a number of ways. It matters at theaters," Kilar stated, acknowledging Godzilla vs. Kong's positive turnout at the box office. The film raked in $463 million from theaters alone.
But Kilar also acknowledged how important the cinematic experience is for viewers at home. "We feel very good about the response that consumers have given it in the home," he said.
That positive response has lead WarnerMedia to show 10 of its films exclusively on HBO Max. There's no word on which specific films will be released as HBO Max exclusives, but they're set to come out in 2022.
The pandemic closed theaters across the globe, putting movie studios in a major predicament. Films were instead released on streaming services, like Wonder Woman 1984's premiere on HBO Max, and Mulan's debut on Disney+. But now that millions of vaccines have been administered and things are largely opening up, can we expect this to continue?
According to Kilar, same-day releases on streaming services may become a permanent trend. Kilar spoke to this during the call, stating:
I certainly don't anticipate us going back to the way the world was in 2015 or '16 or '17, where windows were quite lengthy between theatrical and home exhibition, whether it was an a la carte transaction or something else...And so I think that what you're going to see is this industry continue to evolve and to continue to innovate in ways that not only works for consumers and fans, but also works for our business partners.
In other words, the gap between the home and theater release of movies is closing, likely until there's no gap at all.
Will Home Theaters Continue to Reign Supreme in 2022?
Movie theaters probably won't be happy to hear that Warner Bros. plans on releasing its films in theaters and on HBO Max. If other major movie studios ride this trend into 2022, theaters will be dealt yet another massive blow.
The exclusive films are only good news for HBO Max, which saw a huge uptick in subscribers during the second quarter of 2021. The streaming platform now boasts 47 million subscribers, a major jump from only 2.8 million in the first quarter.