Surprisingly, all eight movies in the Harry Potter series are available to stream through HBO Max on its launch day. Released from 2001 to 2011, the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling's best-selling fantasy novels were extremely lucrative for Warner Bros., grossing a collective $7.7 billion at the box office. The majority of them were equally well-received critically and have remained a popular draw since they became available for viewing at home. Hoping to tap into that demand, NBCUniversal reached a deal with WB to air the movies on NBCU networks, beginning in 2016.
Leading up to streaming service's launch, HBO Max Content Chief Kevin Reilly said getting the rights to the Harry Potter movies was "high on our priority list". It was speculated the films would go to NBCU's upcoming Peacock streaming service (which launches nationwide in the U.S. this summer) in the meantime. Instead, HBO Max users were surprised to find them already available on the service this morning, May 27.
The HBO Max App homepage currently includes a section labeled "Harry Potter: All 8 Films. Relieve the magic from start to finish", where users can stream the full series. For the proof, check out the screenshot below (courtesy of CBR):
For the time being, it's unclear if WarnerMedia struck a deal with NBCUniversal to share the Harry Potter movie rights or simply bought them. In either scenario, it's a smart move on the former's part. HBO Max is joining the streaming wars at a time where competition is fiercer than ever, with services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ earning record viewership amidst the coronavirus lockdowns. It doesn't really have any must-watch exclusive content at launch (certainly nothing comparable to, say, The Mandalorian), so something like the Harry Potter films should be a boon to the service. The series has never been available to stream through a single platform before either, making HBO Max the primary source for The Boy Who Lived and his adventures in the digital market.
Much like Disney+ houses the biggest Disney-owned brands (Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and the various movies and TV shows the company acquired from Fox), WarnerMedia hopes to establish HBO Max as the one-stop outlet for popular WB brands like DC and Harry Potter. They're still missing a lot of DC movies and TV shows, but aim to add more of them in the upcoming months, along with exclusives like Zack Snyder's Justice League and the live-action Green Lantern TV series. The service will similarly add the Fantastic Beasts prequel-spinoff film series (including, The Crimes of Grindelwald) down the line - which, combined with the Harry Potter movies, will make them the go-to destination for Rowling's Wizarding World moving forward.
Source: CBR
