HBO Max quietly pulls six streaming-exclusive films

Warner Bros. has quietly pulled six streaming-exclusive films from HBO Max – in what Variety believes is an effort to cut costs.

During the month of July, six Max Originals disappeared from the streaming service: the Cole Sprouse and Lana Condor sci-fi romantic comedy Moonshot; Doug Liman's 2021 romantic comedy heist Locked Down starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor; the 2020 Melissa McCarthy-led comedy Superintelligence; Charm City Kings; the Seth Rogen comedy An American Pickle; and the 2020 Robert Zemeckis remake of The Witches.

The discovery comes just hours after Warner Bros. made the decision to scrap Batgirl, despite the film being completed, in post-production, and slated for an HBO Max debut. The decision has left many DC fans heartbroken. The LeBron James reboot of House Party was also pulled from the release calendar, as well as the animated Scoob sequel Scooby Doo's Holiday Haunt. All eight Harry Potter films are also being removed from the streaming platform, though they can still be streamed in the US on Peacock. The reason for the cancellations of the unreleased films has been posed as a possible tax write-down.

HBO Max streaming exclusives such as Kimi, The Fallout, No Sudden Move, Unpregnant, Let Them All Talk, 8-Bit Christmas, and the 2022 remake of Father of the Bride have not been removed. Viewers are expecting even more news to come out as part of Warner Bros. Discovery quarterly report on Thursday, August 4 – with some theorizing that HBO Max will merge with Discovery Plus as part of Discovery's previous merger with Warner Bros.

For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2022 and beyond.