‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Delivers Ratings Win for HBO Max

According to Nielsen data, “Wonder Woman 1984” had nearly 2.3 billion minutes viewed in its first three days on WarnerMedia’s HBO Max. That easily topped second-place “Soul,” the new Pixar movie on Walt Disney Co. ’s Disney+, which had 1.7 billion minutes viewed.

This is the second time Nielsen issued streaming ratings for the week of Christmas. Last week, Nielsen had reported that “Soul” was the most-watched content. HBO Max then gave Nielsen permission to share its data for the first time since the service was launched in May, leading Nielsen to reissue the numbers with “Wonder Woman 1984” on top.

While WarnerMedia hasn’t released any data on how “Wonder Woman 1984” has performed, HBO Max did add nearly five million activations of the service in December to bring its total to 17 million.

Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager of the service, praised the performance “Wonder Woman 1984.” In a statement, he called the movie “a huge holiday gift to the consumer at a time when they wanted and needed it.”

Netflix Inc. dominated the rest of the streaming top-10 for that week, with six titles including the new series “Bridgerton” and the George Clooney movie “The Midnight Sky.”

Nielsen’s tracking of streaming platforms is only a chunk of that audience. The firm measures connected-TV viewing only and not mobile devices or computers.

The decision by AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia to release its 2021 movie slate on HBO Max and in movie theaters was controversial. When WarnerMedia unveiled the strategy in early December, some top talent and theater owners voiced their displeasure with the company, charging that it would do irreparable damage to the traditional movie business.

WarnerMedia made the move out of concern that the coronavirus pandemic would continue to keep many theaters across the country closed and moviegoers reluctant to go to those that were open. It was also looking for content that would jump-start HBO Max, which has struggled to gain traction compared with Disney+.

Theatrically, “Wonder Woman 1984” has taken in about $40 million in domestic box office sales through Thursday, according to a studio estimate. Only about 40% of the nation’s theaters are open and most of those are operating at far less than full capacity. Abroad, the movie has taken in $112 million.

WarnerMedia isn’t the only company rethinking how it releases movies during the pandemic. Disney and Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures have also moved away from the traditional distribution model to get movies on streaming and on-demand platforms faster for home viewing.

The strategy is causing all of Hollywood to scramble to adjust movie-business models and how talent is compensated, which for decades has been based in large part on box office performance. Many stars are now seeking higher upfront fees for movies that will make their debut on streaming platforms instead of the theater.

Write to Joe Flint at [email protected]