Barbies, Kens, Allans and everyone else: it's time to figure out when we can watch the Barbie movie online.
Whether you helped Barbie hit $155 million USD domestically on its first weekend — making it the biggest movie of the year — or you simply feel comfortable waiting for the home theater experience, the need to jump into the BCU (Barbie Cinematic Universe) is common.
I personally saw Barbie in theaters on Friday, may see it again in theaters, and understand the need to experience this movie repeatedly. It's hilarious, heartfelt and clever to boot. And the whole communal movie-watching experience you get with Barbie is practically second-to-none.
That said, the world of digital and streaming movie releases has gotten a bit weird as of late. Marvel movies are taking longer, and big box office smash hits typically take ages. So, here's our best bets given how Barbie's studio Warner Bros. Pictures has recently released movies.
When will you be able you watch the Barbie movie online?
Barbie will likely have two distinct streaming windows, with the earliest online date being mid-to-late August at the earliest. This would be the digital release date.
This window is based on how previous Warner Bros. Pictures film Evil Dead Rise first hit digital on May 9th. That was less than a month after its April 21 release date.
Of course, Barbie is far more successful film, with $155 million domestically on its opening weekend. Evil Dead Rise only posted around $24 million. So, we're guessing that Barbie will take a little longer than the short window 'Rise' had.
When is Barbie coming to a streaming service?
The short answer is "this fall."
Deadline reported that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav provided this detail on the company's Q2 earnings call, saying "We really believe in the motion picture window — let it play out … go into PVOD, take it through the windows that have worked forever [in the business] ... When it goes on Max, it will have a good impact in the fall.”
WBD previously announced that Barbie will be coming to Max, but it hasn't set a date. This time, though, let's not look at Evil Dead Rise, but at the almost-as-successful The Batman — which made $128.5 million domestically on its opening weekend.
The Batman took 46 days to hit Digital and HBO Max (yes, this was pre-Max). If Barbie followed suit, then Max and digital on-demand would feel the Kenergy in early September. That's only my earliest estimation for Max, because Barbie made 21% more on its opening weekend, and feels like a larger phenomena?
But I'm not sure about that window, The Batman hit theaters in 2022, when there was a bigger rush to streaming.
How to pre-order the Barbie movie on Amazon
Currently the Barbie movie is available for pre-order in four formats, but there is no announced release date yet.
- DVD for $19.96 @ Amazon
- Digital for $24.99 @ Amazon
- Blu-ray for $24.96 @ Amazon
- 4K for $39.99 @ Amazon
Outlook: When we think Barbie hits streaming
That 46-ish day window does fit 2023's patterns for big hits, though, at least if WBD is to follow Universal's lead. The smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $146 million on its opening weekend, and had a 41 day window between its theatrical and its digital on-demand.
So, based on all of the above, here's our bets:
Barbie likely hits digital on-demand on the first week of September, around 46 days after its theatrical release.
Barbie streams on Max as early as the first week of October, around 76 days after opening in theaters. Evil Dead Rise took 63 days to get to Max, and Barbie should take a little longer.
