Whither <em>Batgirl</em>?
HBO Max’s drastic decision to not release a completed movie is a reminder of the murky—and merciless—economics of streaming.
In the world of moviemaking, it’s generally considered good business to release the movies you make. After all, they can cost tens of millions of dollars to produce, and (pardon me for getting overly technical here) selling tickets for the general public to view them can help recoup that cost. Streaming TV has changed that calculation a little. Now films are sometimes made not to sell tickets but just to beef up entertainment libraries for monthly subscribers. At that point, the economics get hazy enough , a superhero adventure that cost at least $70 million to make and was intended to debut on HBO Max this year.
