Horror film fanatics are dying to learn where and when they can watch Good Boy, an upcoming fright-filled project with a dog as the main character.
Good Boy is already being called one of the best and most innovative horror movies of the year. Directed, written, and produced by Ben Leonberg, the film tells a supernatural story from a dog's point of view.
The movie has been in development for years, but its roots can be traced back to at least 2022 when Leonberg and his wife, Kari Fischer (who is also producing Good Boy), began training their retriever, Indy, for the titular role.
Where Can Fans Watch Good Boy?
Since Good Boy is an independent horror film, it has not been picked up by a distributor yet, meaning that it currently does not have a scheduled theatrical or streaming release.
However, it was already premiered as SXSW 2025 in Austin, Texas. In total, it was screened four times (twice on March 8, once on March 10, and once on March 14).
At SXSW, access was given to attendees with Platinum badges and Film & TV badges, with secondary access going to those with a Music badge and/or an Interactive badge.
At SXSW, Good Boy and its star, Indy, were given the Howl of Fame award for the best canine performance of any film in the festival's lineup.
According to an Instagram post from Good Boy's official account, the film's next screening will be at the Overlook Film Festival.
Overlook is taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana, and will span from April 3 - April 6, 2025. The exact schedule for when Good Boy will be screened at Overlook will be revealed on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
Tickets and passes for the Overlook Film Festival are currently on sale at Overlook's official website.
When Will Good Boy Release in Theaters and on Streaming?
Although Good Boy is an independent film that is only currently being screened at film festivals, that does not mean it won't have a theatrical or streaming release sometime in the future.
Some of the biggest horror movies in the last five years made their premieres at film festivals, with two of the most notable being Terrifier and Late Night with the Devil.
Terrifier, which has turned into a money-printing franchise, made its world premiere at the Telluride Horror Show Film Festival on October 15, 2016. It then continued to screen at other festivals until it became so popular that it was distributed to theaters for a limited time on March 15 and 16, 2018.
Late Night with the Devil (read more about Late Night with the Devil's true meaning here) followed a similar path, premiering at SXSW on March 10, 2023, before releasing in theaters a year later on March 22, 2024.
So, it is possible that Good Boy could receive a theatrical release if it is picked up by a distributor. However, since it only recently premiered at SXSW 2025 on March 8, it would likely be quite a while before its theatrical premiere could happen due to legalities.
Assuming that it would take around a year (or a bit longer) to hit theaters from when it first premiered, that would mean Good Boy would not receive a wide release until Spring or Summer 2026.
If it were to be shown in theaters, it would then take even longer to come to a streaming service. It is impossible to predict exactly when, but if it were to be released theatrically sometime around the middle of 2026, it would likely not begin streaming until later that year.
However, it is always possible that the film could go straight to a streaming service if it is not picked up and distributed to movie theaters. If that were to happen, it still likely wouldn't receive a streaming release until sometime in 2026, though.
At the end of the day, Good Boy's future relies entirely on how it performs at film festivals. It has received mostly positive reviews since its premiere at SXSW, so many eyes will be on its future screenings.
Good Boy premiered at SXSW on March 8, 2025, with its next screening taking place at the Overlook Film Festival.
