‘Euphoria’ Special Episode Sends HBO Max App Downloads To New Heights

HBO Max got some good news amid a week of controversy: a special episode of its Emmy-winning youth drama Euphoria fueled the most app downloads yet for the new streaming service from WarnerMedia.

Friday night, when the special episode debuted, HBO Max downloads jumped to No. 9 among non-game downloads in the United States, according to App Annie, a service that tracks the mobile app space.

Euphoria follows the complicated life of a high schooler named Rue Bennett struggling with addiction, family challenges, a relationship, and more. Zendaya won a Best Actress Emmy this year for her performance as Rue in the show’s first season.

Euphoria Special Episode Part 1 Rue helped helped HBOX Max set a download record. The subscription video service had a slow launch in May amid the pandemic, cancelled productions of most of its new shows, brand confusion, slow subscriber uptake, and distribution fights with Amazon
AMZN
and Roku.

Those challenges continue. Many HBO subscribers still haven’t figured out they also get HBO Max for free, along with a lot more programming. HBO Max has 12.6 million active subscribers, though HBO has more than double that, some 28.7 million subs.

Programming stunts with a high-profile show such as Euphoria could make a difference as WarnerMedia bets big on HBO Max for its future, App Annie director of Market Insights Amir Ghodrati.

“(It) could lead to higher engagement and retention,” said Ghodrati. “While discounts and free trials can help with acquiring users and generating habits, releasing anticipated content a couple of days early for one episode can be a useful incentive to lessen that barrier to action for those who have so far only accessed the content directly via broadcasts.”

HBO Max and WarnerMedia could use the help right now. The company announced last Thursday that it would simultaneously release all 17 of Warner Bros. feature films in 2021 on HBO Max and in theaters. It previously announced similar treatment for one of its 2020 blockbusters, Wonder Woman 1984, whose theatrical debut had been repeatedly delayed by the pandemic’s impacts.

The decision stunned Hollywood, including WarnerMedia’s own production partners, (including Legendary Entertainment, which co-financed Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong among films on the slate), creative talent who might have profit-participation deals on their projects, struggling theater chains, and other studios.

Christopher Nolan, who directed many of Warner’s biggest movies of the past decade, excoriated the studio for the decision this week, calling HBO Max “the worst streaming service,” and the decision one that “makes no sense.”

Nolan’s latest film, Tenet, was released at his insistence in theaters only in September. It badly underperformed, especially in the United States, where it grossed just $57 million on a film estimated to cost more than $200 million to make.

Patty Jenkins, the director of Wonder Woman 1984, was supportive of Nolan’s position but also said the studio’s decision ensured that her film would be seen by millions in a timely fashion, which was important to her. Whether it makes sense for all of Hollywood’s studios to go for so-called “day and date” releases was another issue, and might actually create incentives for some creatives to work with the studio that doesn’t opt for simultaneous releases.