HBO Max: “Home Box Office” Meme Trends After Warner Bros. Moves 2021 Movies to Streaming

Twitter users are pointing out that HBO "lives up to its name" as the "Home Box Office" after Warner Bros. shifted its 2021 movies slate to day-and-date releases on HBO Max, putting its biggest titles on the streaming service the same day they open in theaters at no extra cost to subscribers. Under this one-year hybrid exhibition model starting with Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas Day, Warner Bros. will debut 17 of its movies — including Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, The Matrix 4, and The Suicide Squad — in theaters and the HBO Max streaming service simultaneously as part of an exclusive one-month access period for subscribers.

Thursday's announcement sparked excitement from subscribers as much as it drew ire from film fans concerned this blow to movie theaters might mean the end of an industry already hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions, including this new initiative for the Warner Bros. Pictures Group," WarnerMedia chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff said in a statement. "No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do. We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021."

Calling the move a "win-win for film lovers and exhibitors," Sarnoff added the one-year plan allows WarnerMedia to "support our partners in exhibition with a steady pipeline of world-class films, while also giving moviegoers who may not have access to theaters or aren't quite ready to go back to the movies the chance to see our amazing 2021 films."

The move saw sharp criticism from AMC Theatres boss Adam Aron, who accused WarnerMedia of "[sacrificing] a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max startup."

But online commentators are pointing out that HBO Max is "living up to its name" by allowing subscribers to bring the box office and the latest movie releases into their homes: