Will Poulter and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai in “Warfare.”
A24
Warfare — a real-time Iraq War tale from Civil War writer and director Alex Garland — is coming soon to HBO Max.
Rated R, Warfare is co-directed and co-written by Garland and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza. The film opened in theaters on April 11 and debuted on digital streaming via premium video on demand on May 6.
The official summary for the movie reads, “Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone wrong in insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare and brotherhood, told like never before: in real-time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.”
Warfare stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Charles Melton, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Michael Gandolfini and Kit Connor.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Thursday that Warfare will make its debut on streaming video on demand on HBO Max on Friday, Sept. 12. The film will also debut on HBO linear on cable on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
For viewers who don’t subscribe to HBO Max, the platform offers an ad-based tier for $9.99 per month, an ad-free tier for $16.99 per month and an ad-free tier with 4K Ultra HD programming for $20.99 per month.
‘Warfare’ Is Rooted In Alex Garland And Ray Mendoza’s Work Together On ‘Civil War’
Alex Garland previously worked with Ray Mendoza on Garland’s 2024 hit Civil War, which envisioned a war between four different factions of a former United States.
In an interview with RogerEbert.com prior to the release of Warfare in theaters in April, Mendoza said the idea for the film began when Garland asked him if he “had a story to tell” from his time in the Iraq War.
“There’s a lot of stories we know over a twenty-year war; I know a lot of Rangers, Green Berets, Marine Corps,” Mendoza told RogerEbert.com. “So, I asked myself what story I’ve always wanted to tell. And I had to really ask myself if I was ready to tell it.”
Before he told any stories, however, Mendoza said he needed to get permission from the friends he served alongside in battle.
“I had to ask my friends if it was okay, because I would need their help. Once I knew that support system was there (because I knew I would need it), I pitched it to Alex,” Mendoza recalled for RogerEbert.com. “I told him the whole story, and I think it fit the mold we needed it to. Some trust was already there, so we decided to do it.”
Warfare was lauded by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who gave the film a 93% “fresh” rating based on 234 reviews. The film also received a 93% “fresh” score on RT’s Popcornmeter, which is based on 2,500-plus verified user ratings.
In theaters, Warfare earned nearly $25.7 million domestically and nearly $6.7 million in international ticket sales for a worldwide box office tally of $32.4 million. Warfare had a $20 million production budget before prints and advertising, according to The Numbers.
An A24 film, Warfare arrives on HBO Max on Sept. 12 and will premiere on HBO linear on Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.