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Arguably the most telling news to come out the Snyder Cut announcement, though, is where fans will be able to watch it. The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign had mostly focused on getting Snyder’s Justice League story released in the home media market. If they were really lucky, they’d get a theatrical release, but most fans had more realistic and reasonable expectations. Yet, home video is not where you’ll be able to watch the film. If you want to see the Zack Snyder version of the first chapter in his planned five-film arc, you will have to buy a subscription to the studio’s new streaming service, HBO Max.
By releasing the project on its own streaming service, Warner Bros. is saving tons in marketing and distribution money it would have had to shell out for a theatrical or home media release. In some ways, the cut is now just another original exclusive in HBO Max’s growing library, which will feature 10,000 hours of content when it launches at the end of May 2020. While $20 to $30 million for additional post-production is not pocket change, it pales in comparison to what Warner Bros. paid to acquire Friends; not counting what the streamer spent on the reunion special, that five-year deal cost HBO Max $85 million annually, per THR, putting the total spent on the nearly two-decades-old comedy at $425 million.
For what Warner Bros. paid to have Snyder release a film that some people will see regardless of how poorly its original theatrical cut was received, setting loose the Snyder Cut seems like a no-brainer.
Written by: Looper
