HBO Max has recently upset creators and fans by unexpectedly axing some of its programming. And while it may still trail Netflix and Hulu in terms of the total demand for series on its platform in the US, our data shows that it has a comfortable lead over competitors when it comes to its film catalog. This could give the platform some confidence that it has room to thin out its movie catalog while still remaining ahead of the competition.
Nearly 20% of demand for all movies available to stream on SVOD platforms in the US was for a movie on HBO Max in July. This is a comfortable lead over Netflix, which had a 15.4% share of demand for the month. There is also a fair amount of market power concentrated among the top three players. Collectively, movies on HBO Max, Netflix, and Disney+ accounted for 46.9% of demand for all movies available on all SVODs in the US.
As there continues to be speculation about combining the Disney+ and Hulu catalogs (already available as a bundle deal), it’s worth pointing out that combining the movie catalogs of Hulu and Disney+ would give the combined platform a market share exactly equal to HBO Max.
The most in-demand movie available to watch on HBO Max in August was The Batman, which had 54.76 times the average movie demand. Demand for this film is holding up incredibly well considering it premiered in March. At six month old it still manages to be one of the most in-demand movies in the US.
The most recent release among the top ten movies on HBO Max is Elvis, with 32.14x the average movie demand for the month. It is also the most in-demand non-DC film on HBO Max. Six of the ten most in-demand movies are from the DC universe, highlighting this franchise’s importance for the platform. Unfortunately for Batgirl, however, it doesn’t appear that the DC franchise is important enough for Warner Bros. Discovery to let this movie see the light of day.
