AT&T will offer a new Wonder Woman movie to subscribers of its HBO Max streaming service when it releases the movie in theaters in December.
The move could be the biggest boon for the streaming service since it launched in late May.
Despite offering a robust library of HBO original content coupled with shows and movies from throughout AT&T’s entertainment subsidiary WarnerMedia, the company has struggled to attract subscribers to the $15 a month service.
But the holiday release of “Wonder Woman 1984” will likely attract new subscribers to the service who might stick around after the film disappears from HBO Max one month later.
“This is an amazing film that really comes to life on the big screen and, working with our partners in the exhibition community, we will provide that option to consumers in the U.S. where theaters are open,” Ann Sarnoff, the chief executive of WarnerMedia Studios, said in a statement. “We realize that a lot of consumers can’t go back to the movies due to the pandemic, so we also want to give them the option to see Wonder Woman 1984 via our HBO Max platform.”
AT&T’s decision to release the film on HBO Max continues a trend of entertainment companies choosing to release films directly to consumers during the coronavirus health pandemic, with rival Disney capturing headlines earlier this year when it decided to release the live action reboot of its animated film “Mulan” on its Disney Plus streaming service.
Unlike Mulan, which cost Disney Plus subscribers an extra $30 to watch, HBO Max subscribers will get access to Wonder Woman 1984 as part of their subscription.
The movie will be released to theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day in the United States. Outside of the U.S., the movie will premiere exclusively in movie theaters on December 16.
