Oh, hi Barbie! Here’s when to expect Barbie on Max
If you've been wondering when Barbie be available to stream at home, then you're in luck as you don't have much longer to wait. Warner. Bros Discovery (WBD) has officially announced that it will debut on the streamer Max on December 15.
If you've been considering which of the best streaming services to sign up for, then this could tempt you to become a Max subscriber. Unless, you're in the Oppenheimer camp, then you might want to look to Peacock instead – although no release date has yet been announced.
The news comes just days after Verizon announced that its myPlan customers will soon be able to buy a cheap Netflix and Max bundle, so if you're in the US and have been considering signing up to either streamer but haven't been able to decide which one, then this might offer the best of both worlds.
When will Barbie be released on Max?
Margot Robbie's Barbie movie was released in cinemas on July 21, so a December 15 streaming release is quite a bit later then what we had originally expected. We had assumed that based on previous WBD streaming release schedules, we could expect Barbie to arrive on Max as soon as September 27.
This was based on recent WBD movie launches like Creed 3 and Evil Dead Rise, which took between 64 and 98 days to land on Max. Each film had premiered in cinemas on March 3 and April 21 2023, respectively, and were later released on streaming services on June 9 and June 23 2023. But Barbie has officially taken 147 days to debut on streamers.
With Shazam! Fury of the Gods, for instance, the movie started streaming 68 days after its theater premier – although that was notably a flop after receiving bad reviews. But it marked a big switch up from when WBD had been releasing films simultaneously on HBO Max and theaters during the pandemic. It has since gone back to giving its blockbusters some solid box office time before making them available to stream.
Barbie was also one of the many shows and films that have not been affected by the writers’ strike. Amid the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, many release schedules have been tweaked – with Hulu and Sony delaying new movie and TV show releases over the strikes.
Why we can't wait to explore Barbie Land at home
The summer had been a whirlwind of box office blockbusters, with Barbie raking in $356 million in its opening weekend, making it the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a women and completely revitalizing the cinema.
It’s been a big hit with all types of audiences for Greta Gerwig’s (who also wrote and directed Lady Bird and Little Women) hysterically earnest and entertaining approach to a movie about a toy that was a big part of so many youngsters’ childhoods. The new movie even surpassed Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in the opening week, and after seeing both I can see why it has more mass appeal.
I unfortunately wasn’t able to see Oppenheimer in the IMAX but I did watch Barbie in Dolby’s screening room in Soho Square to much delight – it made Ryan Gosling’s musical number (which was already filled with big Kenergy) come to life with Dolby Atmos surround sound. It's likely to make the cut for one of the best Max movies.
