Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is finally available on streaming services, but you’ll have to pay to watch the highly-anticipated epic as it’s still unavailable on Apple TV Plus.
Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro, is available to buy or rent on Apple TV or through other streaming services like Amazon Prime Video. Yet, there’s no sign of the Oscar-tipped film on Apple TV Plus, and no official release date for its release on that service, either.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the biggest movie release of the year for Apple, with an expectation that the film would be released on Apple TV Plus to watch on your Apple TV 4K just a few weeks after its cinematic release. Now, nearly two months after the Apple TV Plus distributed film appeared in cinemas, Apple TV Plus subscribers are still waiting patiently to see the film appear as part of their $9.99/month subscription.
If you’re sick of waiting for your Apple TV Plus distributed movie to appear on Apple TV Plus, you can rent Killers of the Flower Moon from Amazon for $19.99 or buy it for $24.99. As for those still waiting to see the film on Apple TV Plus, the app currently says “Coming to Apple TV Plus” with no indication of how much longer you’ll need to wait.
Still waiting — iMore’s take
Subscribers to home entertainment services have become accustomed to long waits for new content to appear behind a monthly fee, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Xbox’s GamePass is a great example of making a customer feel valued by guaranteeing first-party releases on day one, so you’re not getting a second-class experience by paying a subscription fee versus purchasing a video game outright.
Other companies take a different approach, trickling content to subscribers months after release. For these services, the customer is usually aware of the fact that they’ll need to wait, and in doing so, they accept the delay.
That said, in these circumstances, I can’t help but feel a little sidetracked by the Killers of the Flower Moon marketing that has been heavily plastered across Apple TV Plus for months. Understandably, movie releases and video game releases are completely different, but there was an expectation that despite Killers of the Flower Moon releasing in cinemas first, Apple’s streaming service would follow suit, and instead, releasing on VOD services shows there’s no reward for loyal subscribers.
Hopefully, Killers of the Flower Moon will appear on Apple TV Plus sooner rather than later, but if Apple continues down this route with other big film releases like Napoleon, there’s a huge risk of devaluing its streaming service with customers able to watch these movies from the comfort of their own homes everywhere but Apple TV Plus.
Bored of waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon? Check out the best Apple TV Plus Movies and best Apple TV Plus shows to find great content this December.