Can Warner Bros' New HBO Max Streaming Service Succeed Without the Snyder Cut?

Posted on | by Jude Terror | Comments

Today, Warner Bros finally announced their highly-anticipated streaming service, HBO Max, teasing content including Game of Thrones, Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Pretty Little Liars, and a multitude of content from various Warner-owned content producers. But does the success of HBO Max hinge on Warner Bros' willingness to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCS4CaZ9dwg

What is the Snyder Cut of Justice League?

Before 2016's Justice League finished production, director Zack Snyder was forced to leave the production due to a personal tragedy, entrusting alleged fake feminist Joss Whedon with finishing the job and staying true to Snyder's vision for the film, the culmination of previous grim and gritty DCEU films such as Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. But once Snyder was gone, Whedon replaced all of Snyder's badass Superman scenes with scenes where Cyborg says "booyah," drastically changing the tone of the film. The movie flopped at the box office, losing money for Warner Bros.

However, hardcore fans of Zack Snyder, known colloquially as Snyderbronies, immediately sprung into action, demanding that Warner Bros release the Snyder Cut, a version of the film which restores Zack Snyder's Vision. The cut is known to exist within a Warner Bros vault, but the studio has belligerently refused to release it. Steadfast in their support, Snyderbronies have continued to campaign for the film, building websites, buying billboards, and marching on Burbank in support of Snyder, who has all the while fanned the flames for the cut on Zack Snyder themed social media service Vero.

snyder cut
Warner Bros.

Snyderbronies Respond

With Warner Bros set to launch HBO Max next spring, it seems like the studio finally has the perfect venue to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Sure, it would be better if the film was released in theaters, which could reverse the money loss from Justice League's original theatrical release and maybe even overtake the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but as a second best option, providing the Snyder Cut as an EX-X-XCLUSIVE to HBO Max would be a surefire way to build subscribers.

And as Warner Bros officially announced HBO Max on Twitter, Snyderbronies used the opportunity to remind Warner Bros that they're still here and still demanding the release of the Snyder Cut.

https://twitter.com/MehToAll/status/1148641849910972416

https://twitter.com/pedroangelnsc/status/1148645272161067009

https://twitter.com/dc_mos/status/1148647116983676929

 A Mathematical Certainty

We examined 60 replies to Warner Bros tweet, and of those, 20 were replies demanding Warner Bros release the Snyder Cut. As a statistical sampling, that's 1/3 of all respondents, and when extrapolated to the total population of the planet Earth, that's over 2.5 billion potential subscribers who would sign up for the service just to watch the Snyder Cut of Justice League. If Warner Bros ends up charging $20 for a one-month subscription to the service, as they are expected to charge "a few dollars more" than the current $15 price of an HBO Now subscription, that means that Warner Bros could earn $50 billion in just a single month from Snyderbronies alone, more than the entire box office take of every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that assumes that Snyderbronies will only want to watch the Snyder Cut one time. If, as is more likely, they want to watch the film over and over, they could continue to pay the monthly subscription fee.

snyder cut

Release the Snyder Cut

In conclusion, the facts here don't lie. If Warner Bros wants HBO Max to succeed, they have no choice but to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League, finally giving Snyderbronies what they want and ensuring their own financial benefit. When launching a new product, it's important to make a good first impression, and what better impression could Warner Bros make than by releasing the Snyder Cut?

About Jude Terror

A prophecy says that in the comic book industry's darkest days, a hero will come to lead the people through a plague of overpriced floppies, incentive variant covers, #1 issue reboots, and super-mega-crossover events.

Scourge of Rich Johnston, maker of puns, and seeker of the Snyder Cut, Jude Terror, sadly, is not the hero comics needs right now... but he's the one the industry deserves.

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