the streaming wars

Warner Bros. Will Premiere Dune, The Suicide Squad, All 2021 Films on HBO Max

Photo: Chiabella James/Warner Bros.

All you have to do now is pump your own liquid butter and pay $14.99 per month. Weeks after deciding to release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max amid the coronavirus pandemic and cinema safety fears, Warner Bros. has upended its upcoming film slate to continue the good streaming vibes. In what’s being described as an “innovative, hybrid distribution model,” the company will be concurrently releasing all of its 2021 movies on HBO Max for one month with their respective domestic release dates. If you have an HBO Max account, this means that at no extra cost (unlike some other services that rudely make you pay additional fees) you’ll be able to watch the following films before the clock expires after a month: The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Matrix 4, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In the Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, King Richard, The Many Saints of Newark, and Cry Macho. Pretty nice!

Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, said in a statement that this “best” decision was made after “considering all available options and the projected state of moviegoing throughout 2021.” However, some reports have suggested that Warner Bros. didn’t inform its studio partners about the new release plan — which, if true, made for a very awkward afternoon news alert.

Warner Bros. to Release Dune, All 2021 Films on HBO Max