When you can stream The Batman on HBO Max plus more premiering in 2022

WarnerMedia and DC have made it clear in recent years that they aren’t afraid to reboot their biggest properties. While Marvel meticulously builds out a single, cohesive cinematic universe, DC is willing to launch and cancel new universes year after year until something sticks. To that point, Batman will get his latest reboot this spring. You might not be ready to go back to the theaters by then. But you will be pleased to know that The Batman is coming to HBO Max just over 6 weeks later.

The Batman comes to HBO Max on April 22, 2022

This year, WarnerMedia will no longer stream its movies on HBO Max day-and-date with their theatrical debuts. It was a bold move in 2021, but the company will bring back exclusive theatrical windows this year. But even so, the landscape has shifted, and WarnerMedia is well aware.

Back in October, WarnerMedia announced that it would move to a 45-day theatrical window in 2022. Going forward, a WarnerMedia movie can move to streaming as soon as 45 days after it first starts to play in theaters. This brings us to The Batman, which comes to theaters on March 4th, 2022. In an interview with the Recode podcast (via ComicBook.com), WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar claimed that The Batman will start streaming on HBO Max exactly 46 days after hitting theaters.

“Think about when movies would show up on HBO, which is 8 to 9 months after theatrical premiere,” Kilar said while speaking to Recode’s Peter Kafka. “The Batman is going to show up on day 46 on HBO Max. That is a huge change from where things were in 2018, 2017, 2016.”

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The future of theatrical windows

It will be interesting to track all the major film studios in the coming years to see how they all handle the shrinking theatrical windows. Disney is waiting 78 days to put Eternals on Disney Plus after its exclusive November 5th theatrical release. Unfortunately, we know Spider-Man: No Way Home won’t be hitting Disney Plus any time soon. It remains to be seen if this is an outlier, because of the connection to Sony, or if Disney will decide the streaming launch for each movie on a case-by-case basis.

Meanwhile, Kilar wants WarnerMedia’s blockbusters on streaming platforms as soon as possible:

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. That is a very, very big change that I don’t think people appreciate, and I feel really good about it.

One way or another, WarnerMedia’s insistence on bringing films to HBO Max as quickly as possible will send shockwaves across the industry. If it drives up subscriptions while people continue to show up to movie theaters, expect theatrical windows to get even shorter. If it doesn’t, Disney and others will likely continue to keep their movies off of streaming services for as long as possible.

Here is WarnerMedia’s latest trailer for The Batman, which comes to theaters in March:

More movies and shows on HBO Max in 2022

There are plenty of movies and shows that are coming to HBO Max in 2022. On top of The Batman, Black Adam, and The Flash, there are other exciting titles that aren’t just superhero movies. Although, if data can be an indicator, Mortal Kombat and The Suicide Squad were two of the best hits for the streamer last year. Here is a list of other shows and movies you’ll see on HBO Max in 2022.

Returning shows

• Westworld (Season 4)
• Euphoria (Season 2)
• Barry (Season 3)
• A Black Lady Sketch Show (Season 3)
• His Dark Materials (Season 3)
• The Nevers (Season 1, Part 2)
• The Righteous Gemstones (Season 2)
• Gossip Girl (Season 2)
• Hacks (Season 2)
• Sesame Street (Season 52)
• Raised by Wolves (Season 2)
• Legendary (Season 3)
• The Flight Attendant (Season 2)

New series

• Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai
• Our Flag Means Death
• The Staircase
• Love and Death
• Peacemaker
• DMZ
• Julia
• Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin
• We Own This City
• The White House Plumbers
• The Time Traveler’s Wife
• House of the Dragon
• Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
• The Gilded Age

Warner Bros. Exclusive Streaming movies

• House Party
• Father of the Bride
• Kimi
• The Fallout
• Scoob: Holiday Haunt
• Moonshot