The service released the latest trailer for “Snyder Cut” on Sunday – an expanded version of director Zack Snyder’s 2017 Superhero movie “Justice League”. The film, which is expected to appear on HBO Max on March 18, comes with considerable hype and high expectations.
But why would WarnerMedia, which is also CNN’s parent company, bother to release a film again from 2017? And not only reviewing the film, but actually adding new scenes as well to create a four-hour version of it with a big budget?
Well, it serves two purposes: to please fans and to promote HBO Max’s subscriber base.
Fans have loved the updated film – which sees DC superheroes Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman work together – since the original theaters four years ago.
Snyder, who has directed other films in the DC Entertainment catalog, including ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ has directed the Justice League following a family tragedy. Joss Whedon, director of Marvel’s “The Avengers”, was brought in to complete the film.
Since then, DC fans have seen Warner Bros. virtually begged to release Snyder’s version and posted the hashtag #ReleasetheSnyderCut on social media. They finally got their wish, with the studio announcing in May last year that it would launch Snyder’s version on HBO Max.
The release of a movie starring Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman in their new streaming service could be a blow to WarnerMedia. However, there is a risk in seeing it The “Justice League” of 2017 was a disappointment.
Fans do not like the movie – as you probably guessed since they asked for a new version – and critics have largely paned it out. The box office totals were also low for a superhero movie, although it earned about $ 660 million worldwide.
But the box office numbers are not worried when it comes to streaming.
For WarnerMedia, the decision to debut the ‘Snyder Cut’ on HBO Max makes sense. Streaming is now the top priority for Hollywood media companies, and to compete with people like Netflix, new services need as many subscribers as they can get, as well as the exclusive content to get it.
Although HBO Max’s 17.2 million activations are solid, they pale in comparison to Netflix (NFLX) and Disney + subscribers, so the service has to push hard to catch up.
It also helps explain why WarnerMedia announced in December that all Warner Bros. feature films would be released for streaming and in theaters on the same day this year. That choice, which will bring potential blockbusters like ‘Dune’, ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘The Matrix 4’ to the viewer’s living rooms, caused a great stir in Hollywood. However, in a streaming market where content reigns supreme, WarnerMedia is not holding back.
So, getting DC’s most popular heroes in movie fans can only be found on HBO Max is not a deciding point for WarnerMedia as it tries to create its own heroic deeds in the streaming world.
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