When Is ‘The Batman’ on HBO Max?

A new Batman film has arrived, and no doubt many are wondering when the Robert Pattinson-led reboot will be streaming on HBO Max.

In 2021, every new Warner Bros. release was streaming on HBO Max the same day it hit theaters. That included tentpoles like “Dune” and “The Matrix Resurrections.”

Starting in 2022, new Warner Bros. films are no longer streaming on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters, so since “The Batman” arrived on March 4, it has been an exclusively theatrical affair. But it didn’t stay that way for too long.

This year, Warner Bros. films will have a 45-day exclusive theatrical window, but after that window closes they’ll be streaming on HBO Max. In December of 2021, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said that on Day 46, “The Batman” will be on HBO Max.

So, when will “The Batman” be on HBO Max? Well, it’s streaming on HBO Max right now! The film started streaming on April 18, at which point it also became available for purchase through digital retailers.

This is Warner Bros.’ first major release of 2022, so the speed with which “The Batman” goes on HBO Max will be a solid bellwether for subsequent releases later in the year like “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” and “Aquaman 2.”

“The Batman” is a new take on the Caped Crusader from “Let Me In” and “War for the Planet of the Apes” filmmaker Matt Reeves, who co-wrote and directed the movie. Robert Pattinson stars as Bruce Wayne, but the story picks up in Year Two of his tenure as Batman so he’s not quite polished and still full of angst. Zoë Kravitz co-stars as Catwoman, Colin Farrell plays an early version of villain Penguin, Jeffrey Wright is James Gordon and Paul Dano fills the primary villain role as The Riddler.

Indeed, the story of “The Batman” finds the titular character putting on his detective cap as he wades through a series of clues left behind by The Riddler. Many have compared the film’s tone and story favorably to David Fincher’s “Seven” and “Zodiac” films, so fans are in for quite a different spin on the Batman character.

With a running time close to three hours, this is only the beginning of a larger story that Reeves and Co. intend to tell within the Gotham world they’ve built. Farrell is due to reprise his role as Penguin in a separate HBO Max series. Pattinson, meanwhile, has expressed his desire to make a trilogy of Batman films with Reeves as the director.