HBO Max Is About To Add Zack Snyder’s Cult Fantasy That Should Have Kickstarted A Franchise

Zack Snyder has put his name behind some major franchises, from the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) to Rebel Moon, but there is one movie in his filmography that remains a one-off feature despite having the weight to carry a franchise. That film is about to start streaming on HBO Max as the streamer wraps up October and gets ready to add new movies and TV shows in November.

The movie in question is Sucker Punch, Snyder’s first film based on an original concept that became a miss with critics and audiences. The underrated movie is scheduled to start streaming on HBO Max on November 1st, giving fans the opportunity to revisit it. Released in 2011 before Snyder helmed bigger projects like Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, the movie is an epic action fantasy that stars Emily Browning as Babydoll, a teen trapped in an abusive, 1950s-era asylum who retreats to a fantasy world where the lines between reality and imagination blur as she plans to escape.

Sucker Punch Should Have Started a Franchise

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Sucker Punch failed to carry much of a punch at the box office or with critics and audiences, meaning it didn’t have much going for it to warrant a sequel. The movie underperformed at the box office when it grossed just $89 million against an estimated production budget of $75–$82 million, it also fell flat with viewers. Critics only gave the movie a 22% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience rating of 47% wasn’t much higher. But even with those bad reviews, the film had more than enough potential to support an entire franchise.

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The layered, genre-hopping nature of the film gave Sucker Punch the perfect creative framework for a franchise where sequels could have expanded on the original’s world-building and explored new virtual worlds and new and established characters. The nested narrative also allowed the film to explore themes of trauma, escapism, empowerment, and patriarchal control, compelling themes that could have been further expanded on in follow-ups. Where Sucker Punch really shined, though, was in Snyder’s distinct visual style, something that even critics lauded appreciation for and that a franchise could have pushed further, Snyder absolutely excelling at visual storytelling.

Other Movies Coming to HBO Max

Sucker Punch is one of several movies set to start streaming on HBO Max on November 1st. The start of the month will bring other great titles like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Dangerous Liaisons, House of 1000 Corpses, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. The streamer will continue adding titles throughout November, such as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (November 2nd), The LEGO Ninjago Movie (November 5th), and A Man Called Otto (November 6th).

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