Warner Bros.
- HBO Max will be available on Roku’s TV platform starting on Thursday.
- Programs like “Game of Thrones” and “Friends” will be available through Roku, and HBO Max subscribers will be able to watch “Wonder Woman 1984” through the platform when it debuts on Christmas Day.
- The announcement comes after Warner Bros. announced that it would debut all of its movies in 2021 simultaneously on its HBO Max platform and in theatres.
- Many in the film world, including “Wonder Woman 1984” director Patty Jenkins and Christopher Nolan, have said the move will likely change the future of traditional movie theatre-going.
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HBO Max will launch on Roku devices starting on Thursday, just in time for the release of “Wonder Woman 1984” next week, according to a Wednesday press release.
Users with the Roku TV platform will be able to download HBO Max and access shows and movies from brands like HBO, Warner Bros., and DC. Offerings include “Game of Thrones,” “The Sopranos,” “Friends,” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
HBO Max subscribers will be able to watch “Wonder Woman 1984” when it premieres on streaming and in theatres on Christmas Day. Roku was the last platform to not offer HBO Max, as Axios points out.
“We believe that all entertainment will be streamed and we are thrilled to partner with HBO Max to bring their incredible library of iconic entertainment brands and blockbuster slate of direct to streaming theatrical releases to the Roku households with more than 100 million people that have made Roku the No. 1 TV streaming platform in America,” Scott Rosenberg, Roku’s senior vice president of platform business, said in a press release.
The announcement comes as streaming services have enjoyed a booming business during the pandemic. Scores of people have been home-bound and movie theatres have taken a hit as a result.
The AT&T-owned Warner Bros. announced in early December that it will be debuting all of its movies in 2021 on its HBO Max streaming service, the same day that the films arrive in movie theatres. The movie list includes "The Suicide Squad" and "Matrix 4," and their releases on HBO Max signals Warner Bros.' deeper focus on its streaming service, which has struggled to recruit subscribers as Business Insider's Travis Clark reported.
The move angered some in the film-making world, including Director Christopher Nolan, who called out Warner Bros.' decision to debut movies simultaneously on its streaming platform and in theatres. Many, including "Wonder Woman 1984" director Patty Jenkins, have speculated that the future of traditional cinemas may forever be changed.
"Some of our industry's biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service," Nolan said in early December.