HBO Max , after a bumpy launch a year ago, is building momentum: The long-delayed Friends reunion is finally available to stream, Max’s cheaper $10-a-month …
HBO Max, after a bumpy launch a year ago, is building momentum: The long-delayed Friends reunion is finally available to stream, Max’s cheaper $10-a-month subscription tier supported by ads is launching next week, and the service is streaming big new movies as soon as they hit theaters. Right now HBO Max is streaming Those Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie (but it’s not streaming A Quiet Place Part II, sorry). Next up will be the next movie in The Conjuring franchise, on Friday, followed by the musical In the Heights on June 11. But HBO Max has killed its weeklong free trial. That means if you want to stream the Friends reunion, other Max originals or any of the Warner Bros. movies on its 2021 slate — including Matrix 4 or Dune later this year — you’ll either need to pay for a Max subscription or figure out if your regular HBO subscription includes a free upgrade to a Max account. That less expensive, ad-supported version of HBO Max, coming to the US next week, will add commercials to its programming in exchange for a $5 discount to its now $15-a-month subscription price. The new tier is missing a big draw, however: It won’t have any of those new Warner Bros. movies when they first come out. If you want to stream those films, you have to subscribe to the pricier, ad-free level. The cheaper tier will have the Friends reunion, though, and the $10-a-month option should become available within days of the Friends‘ special’s premiere. HBO Max hasn’t confirmed the cheaper tier’s exact launch date yet, but it’s expected midweek, which would put it sometime around June 1-3. Here are answers to the latest big questions about HBO Max. Warner Bros.‘ 2021 movies are set to hit theaters and HBO Max on the following release dates: All these titles will be available on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters in the US. Any title listed with a „TBD“ doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, but it’s placed on the list in loose chronological order for when it’s expected to come out. Several movies have already come and gone, including Mortal Kombat most recently. But all these Warner Bros. movies will return to HBO Max to stream a few months after their release. Wonder Woman 1984, for example, is already back on HBO Max to stream, after it left the service in January during its theatrical window. But it looks like 2021 will be the only year for this phenomenon of streaming new big-screen movies on HBO Max as soon as they hit theaters. Warner Bros.‘ recent deals with theaters suggest this so-called „day-and-date“ release strategy — when a movie premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day — won’t continue into 2022. For example, Warner Bros.‘ deal with Regal Cinema’s parent company arranged for a 45-day theaters-only „window“ starting in 2022, which means theaters will get at least a month and a half to screen new movies without any competition from a streaming service. Generally, most of the new Warner Bros. movies become available to stream on Max at 12:01 a.m. PT/3:01 a.m. ET on the day of their release. But the timing for other movies may vary, depending on when the first cinematic screenings take place at theaters. Wonder Woman 1984, for example, became available at 9 a.m. PT/noon ET on Dec.25 because that was the earliest theaters were open that day. The movies will be available to stream on HBO Max for 31 days. They’re generally expected to be removed from the service at 11:59 p.m. PT on that 31st day. All Warner Bros. movies released in this „hybrid“ model on HBO Max will be available to watch in 4K Ultra HD resolution and HDR image quality, even though those formats aren’t yet standard for the full Max library. No. Everything on Warner Bros.‘ 2021 slate of new movies will be available on HBO Max at no added cost to subscribers — in other words, feels like free. Since HBO Max doesn’t have a free trial, you’ll either need to sign up with a paying membership or upgrade an existing HBO subscription to include Max. If you already have HBO from a TV provider or a tech company, or you paid for HBO Now, you may be able to upgrade to Max at no added cost — it depends whether HBO Max has struck a deal with your specific provider. And some AT&T customers have deals to get Max included in their service plans. See the section on „How do I get HBO Max if I already pay for HBO?“ for more details. The Friends two-hour reunion special is only available to watch by streaming it on HBO Max, which requires a subscription to access.
