Credit: DCAnother day, another historical purge from Max – and this time, it’s over a dozen DC titles.
According to The Direct, Max has confirmed that 13 DC movies will be removed from the streaming service on February 29, 2024. All of the titles impacted are animated films, taking place in the greater DC Universe.
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The following DC movies are scheduled to leave the platform:
- Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero (1998)
- Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
- Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006)
- Superman: Doomsday (2007)
- Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
- Wonder Woman (2009)
- Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
- Superman/Shazam!: The Return Of Black Adam (2010)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)
- Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
- JLA Adventures: Trapped In Time (2014)
- LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash (2018)
- Superman: Man of Tomorrow (2020)
The news likely comes as a huge blow to DC fans who’ve already taken the brunt of cuts over the past year. Max previously removed another 10 animated DC films at the end of December 2023, including DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year (2016) and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019).
DC projects aren’t the only ones affected. The streaming service has been extremely active in removing titles over the past couple of years as part of a cost-cutting initiative. Many of these removals have sparked outrage with subscribers, with the decisions to cut Westworld, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, and Infinity Train proving particularly controversial.
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By removing content that doesn’t pull in as many views as other films or TV shows, the idea is that Max can save money on both licensing fees and artist residuals. However, it hasn’t stopped at culling less-popular content. The streaming service has also axed completed, unreleased projects, with the most famous being Batgirl – the multimillion-dollar superhero feature film starring Leslie Grace that Warner Bros. Discovery had reportedly already spent $90 million producing.
Other streaming services have carried out similar practices. After announcing a loss of subscribers in the first quarter of 2023, Disney+ started routinely culling old content – including Disney+ originals that had only been on the platform for a matter of months. It carried out its latest purge this week, axing over 80 titles for subscribers in certain European countries, including the UK.
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