Celine Song’s fans will have reason to celebrate the first week of November, with HBO having confirmed that the writer-director’s sophomore feature Materialists will be available on streaming from November 7. However, the 2025 summer hit will be joined by Past Lives, Song’s stunning directorial debut from 2023, which secured Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
Past Lives is a soulful and devastating look at a romance that might have been, when childhood friends Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reconnect after 20 years apart, having been separated when Nora’s family emigrated from South Korea to the U.S. Following her astounding breakout success, A24 partnered with Song again to produce another unconventional romance in Materialists.
Past Lives is leaving Netflix on November 1 and will become available on HBO Max the following day, a few days ahead of Materialists joining the streaming platform’s library. Materialists broke box office records this summer, becoming Song’s highest-grossing movie and one of A24’s highest-grossing movies, starring Marvel trio Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal.
In contrast to Past Lives, Materialists follows a materialistic Manhattan matchmaker (Johnson) who is torn between a rich financier (Pascal) and her poor actor ex-boyfriend (Evans). Materialists did not reach the heights of Past Lives’ critical acclaim, and is almost certainly not going to get any nods in the 2026 Oscar nominations, but is nonetheless a solid follow-up from Song.
And Song’s two hit movies being available on the same streaming platform within a few days of each other could lead to a resurgence of appreciation for her overall style of storytelling, rather than just Materialists as a movie. The two features are definitely worth comparing, honestly examining the characters’ feelings of regret and materiality in relationships.
Past Lives’ breakout star Greta Lee has garnered more attention recently for Tron: Ares, with no one complaining about her performance despite the movie’s flaws. Meanwhile, Song is working with A24 and HBO on a new e-sports drama series titled Damage. While people may miss her romantic drama movies, she will still soon be bringing a new impactful narrative to screens.
Past Lives and Materialists may bolster each other and both become success stories on HBO Max, due to how they naturally prompt audiences to watch the other film after taking a chance on one. Following Materialists’ success this summer, people can and should revisit all of Song’s work as she moves forward with other genre-defining projects.
- Release Date
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June 2, 2023
- Runtime
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106 minutes
- Director
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Celine Song
- Writers
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Celine Song
- Producers
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Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, David Hinojosa
