Greta Gerwig's highly anticipated Barbie movie arrives in theaters this weekend. Based on early numbers, it looks to be a box office winner in its opening weekend and one of the most successful movies of 2023.
Millions figure to flock to theaters to see a movie based on the beloved toy doll they grew up with, but there's likely to be a number of people who would still rather stay home and watch it from the comfort of their couch. So when can we expect the Barbie movie to come to streaming services?
As of right now, Barbie is only playing in theaters. Gone are the pandemic days of tentpole films releasing on streaming the same day as in theaters. There's just too much money to be made at the box office. So the only way to see it right now is by attending your local theater.
If you don't mind waiting a bit, Barbie will eventually come to digital, followed by streaming. Warner Bros. has not yet announced the dates of either release and probably won't for quite some time. However, we can predict Barbie's digital and streaming dates based on previous movies from the studio.
Evil Dead Rise, another Warner Bros. Pictures film, came to digital platforms just 18 days after its theatrical release. That will almost certainly not be the case with Barbie, which figures to have plenty of legs in theaters. In all likelihood, Warner Bros. will stick to the 45-day industry standard, meaning Barbie won't be available to watch on digital until early or mid-September 2023. If the film does exceptionally well at the box office, Warner Bros. might give it even more time to rake in the money and wait until October before releasing it on VOD services.
Following its digital release, Barbie will then come to streaming platforms. Because it's a Warner Bros. film, you'll only be able to stream Barbie on Max (formerly HBO Max). Movies typically arrive on streaming about a month after their digital release, so if it comes to VOD in September, then look for Barbie on Max around October. If it releases digitally in October, then we may be waiting until November to watch it on the streaming service.
Do you plan on watching Barbie in theaters or are you waiting for it to come to streaming platforms?
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