Wonder Woman 1984 is pretty bad — and so are the glitches

Wonder Woman 1984
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

As Wonder Woman 1984 continues to underperform at the domestic box office in the U.S. and Canada, many viewers are now reporting issues with streaming the film on HBO Max.

In addition to the film being rather lengthy (it’s 151 minutes long) and having some questionable plot choices, a significant number of HBO Max users have had trouble watching the film, particularly those using Roku streaming devices.

Twitter users such as BuzzFeed’s Brandon Wall took to social media to vent their frustrations with HBO Max, citing “choppy frame rates” and “stuttering video”:

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According to ANTENNA, about 11% of all post-launch signups on HBO Max came three days following the release of WW1984, so it’s likely that some new users hoping to watch the latest addition in the DC Cinematic Universe experienced some streaming issues.

Since its release in the dying days of 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 has been a disappointment to fans of the previous film. Officially released on Christmas Day in both cinemas and HBO Max, it turned out to be far from a joyful holiday surprise, grossing just $16.7M in North American on its opening weekend. In the following weekend, this fell to just $5.5M, signaling a 67% decrease.

The film’s score on Rotten Tomatoes took a huge tumble as well, going from 89% to 60% within a matter of days as critics and viewers began to tear the sequel apart for its “mindless story” and “unimaginative series of clichés”:

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The events of WW1984 take place decades after the previous movie (in 1984, in case it wasn’t obvious). Portrayed by Gal Gadot, Diana Prince lives undercover as an anthropologist while still grieving for her deceased love interest, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). 

However, after she and her co-worker Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) discover a curious artifact called the Dreamstone, Wonder Woman must protect it from Maxwell Lord, a TV personality and wannabe businessman who’s interested in benefiting from the stone’s powers.  

Denise Primbet
News Writer

Denise is a Life Reporter at Newsweek, covering everything lifestyle-related, including health, relationships, personal finance, beauty and more. She was formerly a news writer at Tom’s Guide, regularly producing stories on all things tech, gaming software/hardware, fitness, streaming, and more. Her published content ranges from short-form news articles to long-form pieces, including reviews, buying guides, how-tos, and features. When she's not playing horror games, she can be found exploring East London with her adorable puppy. She’s also a part-time piano enthusiast and regularly experiments in the kitchen.