The pandemic disrupted the movie industry in a big way and it looks like its influence is here to stay. WarnerMedia has revealed that several Warner Bros movies will be released on its HBO Max streaming service the same day they're released in theaters next year, a sort of continuation of its hybrid movie launch strategy deployed in 2021.
Last we checked with the two next major Keanu Reeves movies, John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4, we were discussing how their paired launch was changed. On May 21, 2021, The Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 were supposed to launch one next to the other, both in theaters on the same day. Now the movies are in very different points in production, with release dates now approximately 5 months apart.
Tomorrow, June 4, will bring the premiere of hotly anticipated and previously delayed supernatural horror movie The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The movie is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is sticking with its hybrid theater/streaming launch approach for 2021. If you still don't feel comfortable heading to the theaters, you'll instead be able to watch the show with an HBO Max subscription.
Warner Media today launched an ad-supported subscription tier for its streaming service, HBO Max. This ad-supported tier has been in the works for quite some time, and now that it's here, it allows people to subsidize their subscription cost by injecting ads into the content they watch. As you might imagine, there are a few provisos that go along with the less expensive ad-supported tier, but with HBO promising fewer ads-per-hour than its competitors, it isn't all bad news.
The year 2021 may finally be the year that Google made their smart TV platform too affordable to avoid. The Google Chromecast with Google TV is already $50 - a highly reasonable price for what it delivers. But Anker is the sort of company that's positioned to deliver just-good-enough products at low-as-possible prices. With the Anker Nebula 4K Streaming Dongle, the company may get that Google TV experience - starting with an Android TV experience - down to a price that can compete with Amazon's Fire TV.
HBO Max and Cartoon Network have teamed up to launch a slate of new Superman and Batman cartoons for the next generation of superhero fans. WarnerMedia announced the plans this week, revealing series commitments for two new animated shows: My Adventures with Superman and Batman: Caped Crusader.
The initial release date for The Matrix 4 was supposed to be today. The first announcement about John Wick: Chapter 4, suggested they were aiming for May 21, 2021 for a release date. Today could have been the day where both The Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 were released in theaters, both on the same day. The latest batch of re-scheduled release notes suggests we'll have The Matrix 4 in December of 2021, while John Wick 4 will be released in May of 2022.
HBO Max is adding a new, cheaper subscription option, though you'll need to put up with adverts during your streaming. The $9.99 per month tier, dubbed HBO Max with Ads, will launch alongside rather than replacing the existing ad-free HBO Max option, which is priced at $14.99 per month.
HBO Max will soon be home to a movie based on the hit non-fiction book UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record by Leslie Kean. The project comes amid a growing number of reports and renewed public interest in the topic of UFOs, which are now popularly referred to as 'UAPs' by the government in statements on recently released videos.
Friends is unquestionably one of the most popular sitcoms in the world, and in the lead up to the launch of HBO Max, the fact that the streaming service would be home to a Friends reunion was one of its major selling points. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had other plans, ultimately causing production delays for the reunion and making the Friends faithful wait through lockdown. Now, we finally have a premiere date for Friends: The Reunion - as it's officially called - and it's happening in just a couple of weeks.
Adult Swim will release three new movies for now-ended original programming TV shows. The network, born of late-night cartoon programming requests from the kid-centric Cartoon Network, will bring some of the most popular original titles back to the world of the living with one-shot movies. There'll be one movie each for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture Bros., and Metalocalypse.
HBO and ads are two things that have never really been associated with one another, but that's set to change later this year. HBO and WarnerMedia parent company AT&T has indicated in the past that it will roll out an ad-supported version of HBO Max, and currently, AT&T is planning to launch that new subscription tier in June. Thanks to a new report today, we may now have an idea of how much it'll cost when it arrives.