Deadpool & Wolverine finally arrives in theaters today, after years of anticipation and a never-ending press tour for stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. But in case you’re not planning to head to the theater, you might be wondering: when will Deadpool & Wolverine be streaming? And as a corollary to that, when will Deadpool & Wolverine be on Disney+?
Great questions, both, particularly as the advent of simultaneous streaming and theatrical releases have confused things considerably for movie fans. So let me get this out of the way up front: Disney and Marvel Studios have not announced a streaming date yet. But before you immediately click out of this piece, just know that we can make a fairly educated guess on the date, based on previous movie release schedules.
So that bit of business is out of the way, let’s get into our best bet as to when Deadpool & Wolverine will stream.
When Will Deadpool & Wolverine Be Streaming? What We Know:
Given that as of this writing, Deadpool & Wolverine won’t even open in theaters until later this afternoon, Disney hasn’t announced their streaming plans as of yet. They want folks to go to the theaters, first. However, we do know about previous release date windows, so let’s discuss.
There are two comps we can use here: recent Disney releases, and Marvel movies. In an interview with Time, Pete Docter, director of Inside Out 2 discussed the theatrical window — i.e., the amount of time from release in a theater to home viewing — for that movie. There, he said (via a question from the interviewer) that both Inside Out 2 and Elemental had 100-day theatrical windows.
However! This is not quite accurate. In fact, Elemental was released for digital download, aka PVOD (Premium Video on Demand), 60 days after the theatrical release, on August 15, 2023. It was then released on Disney+ on September 13, 2023, which is 89 days later.
I mention all this because Inside Out 2 is a good likely comparison point for Deadpool & Wolverine. The former has become the most successful animated movie of all time. D&W is likely going to crush at the box office, as well. And as announced on August 8, 2024, Inside Out 2 is being released on digital for PVOD on August 20, 2024 — aka 67 days after release.
To use another comparison point, let’s talk about the last Marvel movie in theaters, The Marvels. Unlike Inside Out 2, that was a box office failure. So you’d think Disney would want to rush it onto streaming, right? Wrong. The Marvels was in theaters on November 10, 2023, and hit PVOD on January 16, 2024… 67 days after release.
Given that, it’s highly likely that 67 days after release is the new default for Disney when it comes to releasing movies digitally. While it’s possible you could be able to rent and own Deadpool & Wolverine on September 24, 2024, i.e. 60 days after release, it’s far more likely we’ll see it become available 67 days after release: October 1, 2024.
Update, September 25, 2024: I was right, and in fact, Deadpool & Wolverine will be available digitally and on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD on October 1. The original story continues below.
When Will Deadpool & Wolverine Be On Disney+?
Let’s say you don’t want to rent or outright buy the movie. When will Deadpool & Wolverine be on Disney+? No disrespect to Pete Docter, but the window there is about 90 days. Elemental was 89 days later, as mentioned. The Marvels was also 89 days after release, as well.
On the other hand, Wish had a much longer window, at 133 days from theatrical release to hitting Disney+; though it had the same relative release to PVOD window as above (62 days, in this case).
Let’s assume Wish is an outlier here. Movies on Disney+ are usually released on Wednesdays or Fridays, so if Deadpool & Wolverine does take 90 days to hit the platform, it should stream “free” on Disney+ on either October 23 or October 25, 2024.
That said if it goes the Wish route for whatever reason? Then we’re looking at a Thanksgiving, or December release date for Deadpool & Wolverine. I’d expect the former (in October), but we’ll have to wait and see.
When Will Deadpool & Wolverine Stream On Netflix?
Never! Neveeeeer! Just kidding, but Disney+ is at the current time the exclusive home for Disney movies. However, the world of streaming is shaking up considerably and looks to go through more seismic changes in the next few months. At the current time, Deadpool & Wolverine should head from theaters to rental services like Apple, Prime Video, Fandango, and more, to Disney+ — and that’s where it will live for the foreseeable future. But with things changing so much, it’s possible that Deadpool & Wolverine could come to Netflix eventually. Just don’t expect it to hit this year, for sure.
This article has been updated to reflect the Inside Out 2 digital release date.
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