The Batman Streaming Date on HBO Max Confirmed by WarnerMedia CEO

The Batman will take flight on HBO Max after a 45-day exclusive window in theaters, confirms WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. Along with DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 last December, Warner Bros. made its entire 2021 theatrical slate available to stream on HBO Max on the same day those films opened in theaters. Under Kilar’s hybrid release model created as “a strategic response to the impact of the ongoing global pandemic,” 17 theatrical films — including Godzilla vs. Kong, Space Jam: A New Legacy, DC’s The Suicide Squad, and The Matrix Resurrections — streamed simultaneously on HBO Max. In October, WarnerMedia confirmed a return to theatrical exclusives keeping new titles off the streaming service for at least 45 days.

“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 in an interview with Vox’s Recode. “That is a very, very big change that I don’t think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it.”

That puts The Batman on HBO Max on April 19, exactly 46 days after the Matt Reeves reboot’s March 4 release in theaters. On bringing new subscribers to the service in 2022 without the day-and-date hybrid model, Kilar noted other tentpole titles — including DC’s Black Adam and The Flash — will be available on HBO Max just six weeks after opening in theaters. 

“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,” Kilar said. “That is a huge change from where things were in 2018, 2017, 2016.” 

In September, rival Disney announced the remainder of its 2021 slate of films would have a minimum 45-day exclusive theatrical release before streaming on Disney+. Some titles would take longer than those six weeks, including Marvel Studios blockbuster Shang-Chi (70 days), Marvel’s Eternals (68 days), and Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy (194 days).

Starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell, The Batman opens exclusively in theaters on March 4. If you haven’t signed up for HBO Max yet, you can try it out here.