HBO Max removed six movies that were exclusive to the streaming service without announcing the move.
The six movies from Warner Bros., Moonshot, Superintelligence, The Witches, An American Pickle, Locked Down, and Charmed City Kings, were all labeled as “Max Originals” and were on the platform to boost the streaming service’s original content. However, all six films have been removed in the past few weeks and are now only available to rent or purchase through third-party video on demand services, according to Variety.
The removal of the films was not reported until after Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of HBO Max, canceled the releases of Batgirl and Scoob: Holiday Haunt on Tuesday, both of which were planned to release directly to the streaming platform. Batgirl, a film adaptation of the DC Comics character, had a budget of at least $70 million and had already finished filming before its cancellation.
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WarnerMedia released a sizzle reel in December 2021 showing clips of its major HBO Max releases for 2022, four months before the media company Discovery bought WarnerMedia from AT&T. The video on YouTube has since been made private but is still available to watch on Twitter.
Today @HBOMax released a new campaign introducing the line-up for 2022, featuring highly anticipated original programming, @WBPictures films made exclusively for HBO Max, new content from @DCComics and Wizarding World franchises, hit movies, and more: https://t.co/DoS8nv519e pic.twitter.com/bsfy6oOZUQ
— Inside HBO Max (@InsideHBOMax) December 22, 2021
Warner Bros. Discovery has not explained the removal of the films from HBO Max as of Wednesday afternoon. The company is scheduled to announce its second-quarter earnings for 2022 on Thursday, during which it will also announce a merger between HBO Max and Discovery+, another streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, according to Fox Business.
SCOOP (1/2): CONFIRMED: @wbd will be announcing the merging of the @hbomax and @discoveryplus streaming platforms tomorrow during the newly combined co’s first earnings call at 430 edt. No specific layoffs will be announced on call but @DavidZaslav will discuss the pending cuts
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) August 3, 2022
A person with knowledge of the decision to remove the films told Indiewire that the six movies are part of a long list of films and series being pulled off HBO Max and Discovery+ as Warner Bros. Discovery executives prepare to merge the two streaming services.
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HBO Max did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
