Did Snyder’s Justice League Save The Day For HBO MAX?

Snyder Justice League Image

Big News: After 3 years, the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign has paid off with the release of an alternative version of Justice League on HBO Max.

Big Question #1: Why did Warner Bros re-release this film?

Quick answer: The goal is to drive HBO Max subscriptions. The fan base for this re-release was so active that Warner Bros spent $70M on the re-cut.

Why this matters #1: The original release lost ≈ $50M, and if spending an additional $70M grows HBO Max, this is a wise investment.

Estimated Profits and ROI for 20 Recent Hollywood Super Hero Films

Why this matters #2: HBO Max has a steady slate of 19 film releases through the end of 2021.

In home availability of movie content on HBO Max

Quick math for Warner Media tradeoff from releasing films direct to HBO Max:
1) $1.2B in lost revenue in 2021
2) $12 monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) for HBO Max
3) $144 in annual ARPU
4) $1.2B / $144 = 8.3M

FYI: Wall Street loves recurring revenue. For example, Netflix is valued at ≈ 9X annual revenue. If HBO Max were able to add 8.3M subs @ $144/year, then the value of AT&T could increase by $11B.

FYI: Warner Media increased its subscriber projection by ≈ 64%.

HBO Max subscriber projection for 2025:
1) Original – 75M – 90M
2) Updated – 120M – 150M

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