That is just 45 days after the movie landed in theaters. In fact, the movie will continue to play in theaters while it is on HBO MAX. Prior to the pandemic, the window for rentals was about 75-90 days. While the SVOD/HBO release was typically closer to 6 months. So this is a big change, and one that is for the better. While HBO MAX did launch a lot of movies on its service the same day it hit theaters, we knew that would not last long. This is a happy medium for releases though.
Theaters aren’t dead, but we don’t need to wait six months to watch at home
The theatrical experience is not going to go away. For movie studios, this is how they are able to recoup a lot of their expenses from the actual movie. The Batman has already grossed $359 million in the box office. They would never make anywhere near that by releasing straight to HBO MAX. But releasing it onto HBO MAX a little over a month after it hits theaters, is an okay compromise. It’s one of the things that we hoped would stay the same after the pandemic. And while it is just HBO MAX doing this for now, it’s likely that Disney+, Peacock and others will also follow along, just to keep up. If you didn’t make it to the theaters to watch The Batman, you can watch it at home starting next Monday. A bit interesting that it’s launching on a Monday and not on a Friday so we can watch it at home over the weekend.
