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HBO Max is getting ready to enter high gear as two big pieces fall into place. On Christmas Day, the service will premiere Wonder Woman 1984, its biggest exclusive release by far, and one sure to draw a huge audience. Recently, WarnerMedia also ended its cold war with Roku and got the service on the latter’s devices, which are the most popular streaming devices on the market.

All this is expected to combine into a major boost for HBO Max’s userbase, which has staggered since launch. While the platform has an abundance of content to offer, it currently has one quirk that might annoy users that aren’t prepared for it.

Coming and going, HBO Max can barely decide

HBO Max logo
HBO Max logo. | Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

HBO Max has a tab called “Last Chance.” It gives users notice about what films and TV shows are leaving the service by the end of the current month. The frustrating part about this feature on HBO Max is that it’s largely incomplete. Each month, a sizeable swath of titles leave the service without getting listed, and the reason requires some context about the increasingly convoluted streaming landscape.

Despite sporting the “HBO” name, HBO Max is separate from the famed television production house. WarnerMedia simply borrowed the familiar branding and added the complete HBO library to the new service. However, despite being a separate entity, HBO Max still replaced the old HBO Now app on each device it made its way to. This is certainly nice for consumers who don’t want to pay for and juggle two apps, but the change-over brings its own issues.

The issue is that, currently, HBO Max will only tell you the titles leaving that it has licensed directly. There are a smattering of titles licensed to the original HBO listed, but if you know where to look, you’ll find that far more are leaving than Max will tell you about. The complete list of original HBO licensed titles leaving in December can be found here.

Popular movies are leaving the service, but the app doesn’t list them

HBO Max will stream Wonder Woman 1984
Gal Gadot | Clay Enos/DC Comics
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This is sure to cause headaches for users that want to watch a specific show or movie, only to find that it’s vanished from HBO Max without notice. The complete list is out there, but most mainstream users aren’t going to want to consult a web page every month to see what they need to get around too quickly.

For example, the Last Chance section currently lists major releases like Gladiator, the Matrix trilogy, the Austin Powers trilogy, and Madagascar 3 as departing by Dec. 31. However, if you consult the original HBO specific list, you’ll also find that films like Fast Five, Horrible Bosses, and Contagion are also leaving.

For now, the issue is mostly reserved for movies, which rotate between streaming services frequently. TV shows that aren’t wholly-owned by streaming services tend to stick around for years at a time, so don’t worry about your South Park binge getting cut short out of the blue.

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