Godzilla vs. Kong HBO Max Release Date Moved to March 31

Godzilla vs. Kong's HBO Max release date has been pushed back. The upcoming monster mash-up movie will be available March 31 on the aforementioned streaming service and in American cinemas, five days later than it was slated to. Warner Bros. is only moving the US release date though, it stays the same everywhere else. That means Godzilla vs. Kong will premiere internationally on March 26, including in India where it will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu — nearly a week ahead of its release on HBO Max.

Watch the Godzilla vs. Kong Trailer in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu

Warner Bros. has been employing this tactic for most of its major releases that are going to US-exclusive HBO Max. Wonder Woman 1984, the first title to release simultaneously on HBO Max and in American cinemas back in December, began its international rollout nine days ahead of the US release date. Albeit in India, Wonder Woman 1984 released only a day prior. The upcoming Tom & Jerry movie will premiere February 10 in Netherlands, over two weeks before it hits HBO Max on February 26. In India, Tom & Jerry arrives February 19.

AT&T-owned WarnerMedia — which controls both Warner Bros. and HBO Max — hasn't provided a reasoning for this strategy, but it's likely that the threat of piracy has something to do with it. A release on a digital platform like HBO Max essentially ensures that high-quality pirated copies of Warner Bros.' biggest titles — including in 4K HDR — will be floating across the Internet in the hours that follow. By setting an international release date ahead of the US one, it gives the movies some breathing room and an enticement to go to theatres for those that like to catch it first.

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Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth entry in Legendary Pictures' so-called MonsterVerse, following 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island, and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir, Zhang Ziyi, Van Marten, Kaylee Hottle, Lance Reddick, Jessica Henwick, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and Benjamin Rigby.

Godzilla vs. Kong is out March 26 globally including India, and March 31 on HBO Max and in the US.