Data suggests 'Wonder Woman 1984' is giving HBO Max a huge boost as the movie struggles at the box office
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Travis Clark
Jan 5, 2021, 01:17 IST
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in "Wonder Woman 1984."Clay Enos/DC Comics/Warner Bros.
"Wonder Woman 1984" dropped 67% at the domestic box office in its second weekend with $5.5 million.
It made just $10 million over the weekend in 40 international markets and has grossed $118.5 million globally so far. It cost $200 million to make.
As the movie struggles at the box office, new data from the research startup Antenna suggests that it's giving HBO Max a boost.
"Wonder Woman 1984" and "Hamilton," which debuted on Disney Plus in July, were the two most impactful streaming releases of 2020 in terms of attracting sign-ups, according to Antenna.
"Wonder Woman 1984" generated 4.3 times the average weekend signups in December for HBO Max, according to Antenna.
But it was also a sign of how the theatrical industry has suffered gravely in the last year, as 2017's "Wonder Woman" grossed $103 million domestically in its first weekend.
In its second weekend, "Wonder Woman 1984" dropped 67% at the domestic box office with $5.5 million. In fairness, just 35% of North American theaters are currently open, according to Comscore. And the movie's presence on Max for subscribers, at no extra cost, deemphasizes the urgency to head to a theater for some.
But the superhero sequel, which cost $200 million to make, was sluggish at the international box office over the weekend too, and Max isn't available outside of the US. It grossed $10 million across 40 international markets, bringing its global total to $118.5 million.
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As the movie stalls at the box office, data from the research startup Antenna shows that it is providing a boost for Max, WarnerMedia's flagship streaming service.
"Wonder Woman 1984" and "Hamilton," which debuted on Disney Plus in July, were the two most impactful streaming releases of 2020 in terms of attracting sign-ups, according to Antenna. The company pulls from a variety of opt-in panels like budgeting apps to track purchase and transaction data, which doesn't include free trials.
For its debut weekend, "Wonder Woman 1984" generated 4.3 times the amount of signups as the average for the previous three weekends in December, according to Antenna
The chart below illustrates the subscriber gains.
20% of the Max signups came through Roku and Amazon platforms, the two biggest streaming distributors, according to Antenna. Max launched in May, but WarnerMedia didn't strike a deal with Amazon until November and with Roku until a week before the release of "Wonder Woman 1984."
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A representative for HBO Max declined to comment. Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Max has struggled to gain new subscribers and convert existing HBO customers since launching. It had 12.6 million activations as of December 8, while HBO and Max had a combined 38 million subscribers as of November.
But the response to "Wonder Woman 1984" could be a positive sign for the service. WarnerMedia said that nearly half of the service's retail customers watched the movie on its first day (though it didn't provide specific viewership numbers).
But it's unclear when the theatrical industry will recover. Major theater chains like Regal and Cineworld remain closed in the US and UK. Warner Bros.' release plan is a way to get its movies out to the biggest possible audience at a time when people have been wary of heading to a theater, especially in the US.
"A pristine, high-definition copy of the movie will be available in everyone's queues within days," Shawn Robbins, the chief analyst at Box Office Pro, previously told Business Insider.
At any rate, Jeff Bock, the Exhibitor Relations senior media analyst, thinks the sluggish box office of "Wonder Woman 1984" is more of a sign that Warner Bros. made the right call to also release it on Max.
"It's going to be problematic to release blockbuster content on a global scale, especially early on in 2021 and possibly over the entire year," he previously said.
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