There’s a lot of discomfort in the air surrounding HBO Max this week, especially ahead of Thursday’s earnings call for Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns the streaming platform.
Months after HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, merged with Discovery, messages coming down the pipeline suggest HBO Max might be scaling back its original content.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. announced it had canceled the release of the already-filmed original movie “Batgirl,” which cost an estimated $90 million. Soon after, it was revealed at least six Warner Bros. movies had been pulled from the streaming service, including “Moonshot,” “Superintelligence” and “An American Pickle.”
Although official plans are expected to be revealed during Warner Bros. Discovery’s quarterly earnings call Thursday afternoon, many are already sounding off. Even though Issa Rae’s new show, “Rap S—,” appears to be safe, the actor and writer still expressed concern about the platform that carries her latest effort (along with “Insecure” and “Sweet Life: Los Angeles”).
“Me finding out who to seduce and scheme at Discovery,” she tweeted Wednesday alongside a GIF of someone slinking along in a sparkly, snug dress and holding a purse. Robin Thede, creator of “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which also streams on HBO Max, quickly hopped in the replies to add “SAME.”
Reasons for the new strategy haven’t been announced yet, although sources previously told The Times that canceling projects such as “Batgirl” could potentially allow for a tax write-off. However, a person close to the company said that scrapping “Batgirl” was not a money-saving measure.
HBO and HBO Max reported a combined 76.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2022, making it one of the more formidable competitors to Netflix and Disney+. HBO Max is the streaming home of a broad array of DC content, including the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Peacemaker” and the animated “Harley Quinn” series.
“The crumbling of HBO Max before our eyes is infuriating,” tweeted entertainment writer Eric Francisco. “Not because we should love HBO unconditionally but because the service has easily the best library of classic shows and movies AND daring originals that never feel like they’re made by algorithms.”
Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report.
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