‘Harry Potter’ Returns to HBO Max, ‘Star Trek’ Films Debut; Will Warner Bros. Discovery Pursue More Licensed Content?
‘Harry Potter’ Returns to HBO Max, ‘Star Trek’ Films Debut; Will Warner Bros. Discovery Pursue More Licensed Content?
Is HBO Max the final frontier? It will be for the foreseeable future, at any rate. HBO Max is adding 10 Star Trek movies to its library on Nov. 1, along with all eight “Harry Potter” films. The “Potter” films took a short hiatus from HBO Max, leaving the service on Aug. 31 for Peacock.
Which Star Trek and Harry Potter Films Are Coming to HBO Max?
Star Trek Films
- “Star Trek Generations,” 1994 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)
- “Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan,” 1982 (HBO)
- “Star Trek III The Search For Spock,” 1984 (HBO)
- “Star Trek IV The Voyage Home,” 1986 (HBO)
- “Star Trek The Motion Picture,” 1979 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)
- “Star Trek V The Final Frontier,” 1989 (HBO)
- “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” 1991 (Director’s Cut), (HBO)
- “Star Trek: First Contact,” 1996 (HBO)
- “Star Trek: Insurrection,” 1998 (HBO)
- “Star Trek: Nemesis,” 2002 (HBO)
Harry Potter Films
- “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” 2001
- “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone: Magical Movie Mode,” 2001
- “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” 2002
- “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” 2004
- “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” 2005
- “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” 2007
- “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” 2009
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” 2010
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” 2011
The additions could mark a new phase in the reorganization and streamlining going on at HBO Max’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. When WarnerMedia and Discovery merged, CEO David Zaslav was given the mandate to cut $3 billion from the company’s bottom line. A company-wide content purge ensued, and only the biggest money-makers have been left standing.
That certainly explains why the “Harry Potter” films are coming back to HBO Max. WBD owns those films, but a complex deal with NBCUniversal saw the films leave HBO Max for an exclusive window on Peacock at the end of August. Now they are returning, and as one of the biggest intellectual properties owned by WBD, the company likely sees the return as not a moment too soon.
The case is somewhat different for the Star Trek films. Those are owned by Paramount, and until Oct. 1 were exclusively available on that company’s streaming platform Paramount+. It’s unclear how long of a window HBO Max will have with the movies, but adding them could signal that WBD wants to purchase the rights to more popular content and widely known franchises for its streamer.
That strategy would be cheaper than developing content from scratch. WBD infamously shelved its $90 million “Batgirl” movie despite being nearly finished in favor of a tax write-off. Buying the rights to already-made films costs a fraction of that amount, and when they come with the brand recognition of a franchise like Star Trek, it becomes a win-win proposition for WBD.
The addition of the Star Trek movies could just be a one-time experiment for WBD, or part of another complicated distribution deal. If the move fails to attract a lot of attention for HBO Max, the company will surely be more reticent about licensing big-name IPs in the future. But if Star Trek draws more eyes to the service, WBD very well could start poking around to find additional franchises that it can use to round out its streaming service.
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