A Quiet Place Part 2 will hit theaters Friday.
ParamountHBO Max made waves last year when it announced that it would stream new, theatrically released movies at no extra charge the same day each film hits US cinemas in 2021 -- but only if they're distributed by the studio Warner Bros. That means every Warner Bros. movie this year will premiere both on Max and in cinemas, including In the Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Dune and The Matrix 4 to come.
It also means any movie from any other studio won't.
This so-called hybrid release strategy for Warner Bros. and HBO Max is unprecedented, but it's also sparking some misguided hope among moviegoers when any new movie hits theaters. Without knowing the studio distributing that new flick, lots of people get curious that maybe it's one of the movies available on HBO Max too.
Warner Bros. movies have the direct pipeline onto Max because both HBO Max and Warner Bros. are both owned and operated by AT&T's WarnerMedia. They're siblings, essentially.
But it's worth noting that this hybrid strategy is unique to Warner Bros. and HBO among literally every other Hollywood studio. No others are being this aggressive in putting this many movies (including megabudget blockbusters) on a streaming service immediately.
The hybrid release strategy is so aggressive, in fact, WarnerMedia is ending it after 2021. Starting in 2022, Warner Bros. movies are expected to have a window of time exclusively in theaters before moving to other formats like online rentals and HBO Max. However, that theatrical window will be much shorter than it was before the pandemic.
Will A Quiet Place Part 2 stream on HBO Max?
Nope. The sequel to horror hit A Quiet Place (distributed by Paramount Pictures) is scheduled to be released only in theaters on Friday.
But! A Quiet Place Part 2 be available on streaming service Paramount Plus 45 days later, on July 12. That's much faster than theatrically released movies would have made it to a streaming service before the pandemic.
Cruella comes out this weekend too -- can I stream that on HBO Max?
No again. Cruella, as a Disney movie, is destined for the company's own streaming service, Disney Plus.
Cruella will be available to stream on Disney Plus on Friday at the same time it's available in theaters, but it will require Disney Plus subscribers to pay an extra $30 fee to unlock it. This is what Disney calls Premier Access, and it is how Disney Plus already released Raya and the Last Dragon and how it will release Marvel's Black Widow on July 9.
While we're at it, can I stream Spiral on HBO Max?
No here too. Spiral, the latest Saw franchise horror film, stars Chris Rock and was released in theaters May 13. But it is distributed by Lionsgate, which means it isn't available on HBO Max.
Lionsgate's movies do end up on streaming service Hulu and cable channel FX eventually, after a period in theaters. Watch there for Spiral potentially becoming available, but it'll take a few months at least.
OK, so what new movies actually will stream on HBO Max when they're in theaters?
Here you go:
All these titles will be available on HBO Max the same day they hit US theaters.
Any title listed with a "TBD" doesn't have a confirmed release date yet, but it's placed on the list in loose chronological order for when it's expected.
Generally, most of the new Warner Bros. movies become available to stream on Max at 12:01 a.m. PT/3:01 a.m. ET on the day of their release. But the timing for other movies may vary, depending on when the first cinematic screenings take place at theaters. Wonder Woman 1984, for example, became available at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET on Dec. 25 because that was the earliest theaters were open that day.
The movies will be available to stream on HBO Max for 31 days. They're generally expected to be removed from the service at 11:59 p.m. PT on that 31st day.
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A Quiet Place Part 2 won't stream on HBO Max, sorry - CNET
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