Warner Bros. experimented heavily with its film distribution system in 2021. The studio elected to release their films day-and-date in both theaters and on HBO Max. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t exactly work as many films suffered since people could just stay home and turn on HBO Max. Warner Bros. will not be doing this system in 2021, however, we now know when movie fans will be able to watch The Batman on HBO Max.
The Batman is one of the most anticipated films of 2022. Directed by Matt Reeves, this latest iteration of the caped crusader will star Robert Pattinson as the Batman himself. He will also be joined by Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, and Paul Dano as the Riddler. Anticipation has been high and a new trailer was recently released that showcased the gritty version of Gotham and the interesting dynamic between Pattinson’s Batman and Kravitz’s Catwoman.
While The Batman will not release directly to HBO Max the same day as theaters, it will be available on the streaming service about 45 days later on April 19, 2022. The day-and-date system did not work out great for Warner Bros. as The Suicide Squad, Dune, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and The Matrix Resurrections suffered at the box office since people had other ways of viewing it. However, The Batman‘s HBO Max release date does follow recent trends of films having shorter theatrical windows.
“Think about when movies would show up on HBO, which is eight to nine months after theatrical premiere. The Batman is going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max,” said WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. “That is a huge change from where things were in 2018, 2017, 2016.”
Kilar also confirmed that The Batman will not be the only Warner Bros. film to follow this model, suggesting this may be what the studio does going forward.
“I feel really, really good knowing that The Batman, and Black Adam, and The Flash, and Elvis, and a whole host of other movies, are literally going to be showing up on day 46 on HBO Max in a variety of territories all over the world,” Kilar said. “That is a very, very big change that I don’t think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it.”
The Batman will be released exclusively in theaters on March 4, 2022.