On the feature film side, the company has shifted plans for “Superintelligence,” a comedy starring Melissa McCarthy. Instead of making its debut in theaters in December, it will have its premiere on HBO Max at its 2020 launch.
A comedy from the director Steven Soderbergh, “Let Them All Talk,” starring Meryl Streep, will also appear first on HBO Max, as will two movies from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine production company.
Series that seem in keeping with the HBO brand are also on the docket, including “Americanah,” a 10-episode limited series based on the book by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and starring Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira; “Circe,” a 10-episode series based on Madeline Miller’s 2018 best-selling novel; and “Station Eleven,” a post-apocalyptic series adapted from the best seller by Emily St. John Mandel, to be directed by Hiro Murai, who is known for his work on the FX show “Atlanta.”
There will also be competition and reality shows, including, among others, an interior design show, a matchmaking show produced by Ellen DeGeneres, and a children’s crafting show hosted and produced by Lauren Riihimaki, who was deemed the “millennial Martha Stewart” by Forbes.
WarnerMedia is making its presentation after AT&T’s third-quarter earnings report, in which it announced a steep decline in its DirecTV subscribers and an overall decline in profit.
Elliott Management, one of Wall Street’s biggest and most aggressive hedge funds, which owns about 1 percent of AT&T shares, has been critical of the company’s move into entertainment. The success of HBO Max will figure into AT&T’s ability to stave off those investors.
HBO Max hopes to appeal to younger viewers with four young-adult films from the uber-producer Greg Berlanti, including “UnPregnant,” which tracks two teenagers on a road trip to New Mexico to terminate a pregnancy before the start of college. A “Gossip Girl” reboot and “Grease: Rydell High,” a musical series, also play to that audience.