The streaming world saw a paradigm shift in 2023, as the industry faced an actor’s and writer’s strike. It also witnessed a spike in both series cancelations andFree Ad-Supported TV (FAST)Channels, changing the entire playing field. However, it was an especially big year forHBO Max, as the world saw this platform rebrand itself as “Max” after merging with Discovery+.
Since every big media company wants to have the next big streaming service these days, Max had a lot to compete against this year. And with such monumental changes occurring behind the scenes, it very much seemed like an uphill battle for Max to succeed. Nevertheless, this newly dubbed platform made itself the best streaming service of the year for various reasons.
It has the best selection of films and TV shows
As media giants like HBO started creating their own streaming services, top hitters likeNetflixsaw some of their most popular shows leave their libraries and move to their competitors. As a result, Max is now one of the few platforms with easy access to so many beloved, high-quality shows likeFriends,South Park,Rick and Morty,Chernobyl,Game of Thrones, andThe Sopranos. Also, despite recent headlines, fans of HBO’sWatchmencan rest assured knowing it is still available on Max.
At the same time, Max continues to have a far more extensive library of the most beloved films. Such a collection features classics such asThe Matrix,Dune,Pulp Fiction,The Exorcist, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the works from DC Comics andStudio Ghibli. Though Netflix now has some of these films available on its platform, particularly those by DC, Max remains more consistent with its selections by retaining more of its greatest hits for far longer.
Many great new releases
Max started 2023 off with a bang with the release of HBO’sThe Last of Us, which immediately became one of the most popular shows of all time, thanks partially to its availability on streaming. Since then, the platform has hosted many new and returning hit shows such asLove & Death,The Gilded Age,Succession,Perry Mason,Barry,The Righteous Gemstones,Curb Your Enthusiasm, andOur Flag Meets Death. HBO may have suffered a spectacular flop with Sam Levinson’s panned miniseries,The Idol, but it more than compensated for it with all these other successful releases.
And though they weren’t box office hits in theaters, a handful of new DC films likeThe FlashandBlue Beetlewere dropped on Max in 2023 that became streaming hits, at least for a short time. This year also saw many welcome additions to Max’s database likeEvil Dead Rise,Barbie,Mad Max: Fury Road, and many of the best James Bond films, includingGoldfinger,On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, andSkyfall.
The competition has been leveled
All A24 movies are now coming to Max
In its first 10 years in business, A24 has made several award-winning films, and as fans are hoping to see more from them, Hollywood is now dying to do more business with them. There were already plenty of terrific films from A24 available on Max, includingHereditaryandEx Machina, and HBO had already worked with them on the smash-hit seriesEuphoria. However, the acclaimed indie studio signed a deal with the streaming company this month that should please members of both Max and A24’s fanbases.
Max survived the merger
Though nine Max shows were canceled this year, thankfully, they were only half the amount of cancellations witnessed in 2022 and half of those seen from Netflix this year. On the bright side,Vulturereported that many of these shows will reappear on third-party FAST channels (amongst other digital platforms). Max also filled the void they left behind with its many new releases, helping build a fresh new house from the foundation left by HBO Max.
