AT&T highlighted WarnerMedia in its report of fourth-quarter and full-year results, noting that HBO Max subscribers had doubled – to 17.2 million – in the fourth quarter of last year. In addition, the company acquired 41.5 million HBO and HBO Max subscribers in the US by the end of 2020, up from 34.6 million the previous year. Plus, HBO and HBO Max subscribers topped nearly 61 million worldwide in 2020.
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AT&T said that the 41 million-strong US subscriber count for HBO and HBO Max came two years faster than the company’s initial forecasts. AT&T CEO John Stankey attributed these figures, in part, to the release of Wonder Woman 1984, the Patty Jenkins-directed superhero sequel starring Gal Gadot, which he said ultimately helped to “drive” the subscriber numbers up.
Towards the end of the year, WarnerMedia also likely benefited from its long-awaited distribution deal with Roku, which resulted in HBO Max finally being rolled out to Roku-enabled devices after being unavailable for several months. The new agreement gave Roku owners the opportunity to download the HBO Max app and gain full access to its library, including Wonder Woman 1984.
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As previously reported, HBO Max saw an estimated 554,000 users sign up from December 25 – Wonder Woman 1984’s release date – to December 27. This figure included a record 244,000 downloads on December 27 alone. WarnerMedia also said that “nearly half” of its HBO Max subscribers watched Wonder Woman 1984 on the day of release.
In our review of Wonder Woman 1984, we shared our belief that the Cold War-set sequel landed “exactly at a time that can benefit from it the most.” We praised the movie for presenting “a nostalgic look back to a beloved time,” which we felt ultimately provided “escapism from an exceptionally difficult year” and offered the “kind of bright and hopeful movie the character’s legacy deserves.”
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.