Zack Snyder’s Justice League is more popular than Wonder Woman 1984 three days after its release on HBO Max. Both DC films found themselves in unique positions when hitting the streamer over the last few months. Wonder Woman 1984 faced multiple delays on its way to theaters and it became the first Warner Bros. film to hit HBO Max and theaters on the same day ahead of the rest of the studio’s 2021 slate doing the same. The controversial decision ignited backlash in the industry, but it seemed to pay off for the fledgling streaming service, pushing HBO Max past 40 million subscribers.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League has also been years in the making. What started as a fan campaign after the poor reception of the 2017 theatrical version turned into a reality when Warner Bros. announced in May of 2020 that Snyder would be able to complete his original vision. The Snyder Cut finally hit HBO Max last week and the reception to the four-hour cut was leagues better than the critical response to Joss Whedon’s version.

That response has translated to massive success for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, with TV Time reporting that the Snyder Cut was the most-watched movie its weekend of release. They also shared that it is tracking 35% higher than Wonder Woman 1984 three days post-release in terms of audience demand. The Snyder Cut is also tracking higher than both Godzilla vs Kong and Mortal Kombat, two high-profile releases set to hit HBO Max in the coming weeks.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League seems to be blowing expectations out of the water. Not only are longtime fans of the DCEU checking out the film, but it seems to have massive crossover appeal thanks to the hype surrounding the unprecedented release. Critically speaking, Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Wonder Woman 1984 aren’t that far apart, sitting at 73% and 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively, but their releases are vastly different and so, too, is the sentiment behind them.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been touted as an event since its announcement. It represents an unprecedented reversal for a major studio on one of their prized tentpoles. Director’s cuts aren’t unique to the industry, but the Snyder Cut gained mythological status both because of the narrative within the film and the one happening behind the scenes. Wonder Woman 1984, on the other hand, represented the beginning of a different kind of experiment and while its success shouldn’t be downplayed, it’s also difficult to truly compare the two as they represent vastly different things for the fans that have stuck by the DCEU through thick and thin.