Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as her counterpart Ken, has been hotly anticipated since it was announced, and things have really ramped up to a fever pitch with the film’s incredible marketing team. The movie’s release also happened to align with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and what started as a joke about a double feature has turned into an actual event as fans line up to watch both movies back-to-back.
The movie is based on the iconic Mattel doll, offering a live-action interpretation of the Barbie universe, which is pink and perfect and filled with charmingly naive and upbeat Barbies. As Robbie’s Barbie begins to doubt her world view, it starts a chain reaction amongst her many Barbie friends in Barbie Land. The film is star-studded, with more dolls played by Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, Dua Lipa, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, and many more.
Barbie came out in theaters on July 21, 2023, and will most likely be available to stream at some point. But when and where?
Barbie is currently set to be released on Max only, as it belongs to Warner Bros. who generally stream to HBO’s service. As to when, that’s harder to say — they have not yet announced a date. The last few movies to go to Max after airing in theaters were Evil Dead Rise and Shazam!, both available to stream at 63 days and 67 days later. However, neither film did amazing at the box office.
If they stick with this pattern, Barbie should be out in about two months give or take a few days. But with the success of the incidental Barbenheimer release boosting sales, distributors might decide to keep Barbie in theaters-only for a little while longer. Or they might offer a model that allows people to rent at home, as some streaming services offered in the early days of COVID-19.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.