A sad, but probably inevitable decision: HBO Max has ended the 7 day free trial offer for new viewers just ahead of the premiere of Wonder Woman 1984. Though the service has had a 7-day trial available since it launched in the U.S. it would seem that the release of a major blockbuster like Wonder Woman 1984 has the service interested in making viewers pay up front from now on. This decision also coincides with the announcement that Warner Bros. entire 2021 film lineup will be hitting HBO Max day-and-date with the theater releases.
Though it is unfortunate that the free trial is no longer available, the decision makes fairly obvious financial sense. Allowing users to view big budget blockbusters on release day using a free trial was never going to fly, and now those who want to see Wonder Woman, or anything else on HBO Max, will have to pay for at least a month of HBO Max. That's about $15 dollars, and all things considered, it's not a bad price considering you get access to both the film and the rest of the HBO Max library for the whole month.
Of course the trick is that HBO Max hopes you will stay subscribed for everything else, but even if audiences only chip in for the one month, that will still likely be a significant boost to revenues. Warner Bros. decision to release all their major films on HBO Max will be the first large scale test run of straight to VOD release for big budget films, so it will be interesting to see what kind of return they get, and how it compares to traditional theater runs.
HBO Max isn't leaving folks entirely in the cold, however. The service announced a 22% to new subscribers willing to purchase a six month subscription. For $70 dollars new members will get six months of the service for around $11.66 a month, making it a decent time to jump on board for those interested in its catalogue. Those who do will receive quite a large amount of content up front and will be able to watch every one of Warner Bros. 2021 films on the same day they hit theaters.
Source: Variety