2024's Reagan movie could have quite the journey before ever seeing any sort of streaming release.
Starring the likes of Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller, the presidential drama recounts the life of the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
The movie debuted in theaters on Friday, August 30 to mostly positive reviews with critics calling the film a "powerful," and "honest" blockbuster, albeit one that is a touch too long (read more about the Reagan reviews).
When Will the Reagan Movie Be Released Online?
Seeing as the 2024 Reagan movie was only released in theaters at the end of August, a streaming and online release date could still be some time away.
This is especially the case, because of the film's unprecedented nature. Usually, movies from various studios follow a specific pattern when going from theaters to PVOD and then eventually to streaming.
These patterns take shape over time with specific studios using their own unique release strategies that most often carry from film to film.
Where Reagan becomes difficult is in the fact that it is the first theatrically released project from the Showbiz Direct studio.
That makes figuring out the studio's cadence of release post-theaters a difficult prospect.
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (and its ensuing complete shake-up of the entertainment industry), theatrical-to-digital windows have shrunk down significantly.
Since 2020, movies have been released online an average of 37 days after their big-screen debut (via IndieWire). Of course, this is a massive amount of variance on either end with titles taking anywhere from 25 to over 100 days to eventually debut on PVOD storefronts.
In recent times, it seems as though the theatrical-to-digital window has started to stretch out again (dependant on the project of course) however, which could push Reagan's PVOD release out past that 37-day mark.
A smart prediction would be to say that Reagan will likely stick around in theaters for at least 45 days (roughly seven weeks). This would mean a possible digital release date for the presidential biopic should be expected sometime in mid-October.
Reagan 2024's Online Streaming Plans
Figuring out Reagan's streaming release date is an even more complicated prospect than predicting when the film will arrive online for purchase.
Seeing as this movie is Showbiz Direct's first film, it is unclear just how long the studio will hold the film before putting it up on a streaming platform.
Then, when it does eventually get a streaming release window, where the movie will actually be streaming is another puzzle box entirely.
Usually, these streaming release dates come several months after a movie's big-screen debut. Given this knowledge, one should expect Reagan to arrive on streaming sometime around December or early 2025 (but that could change).
As for where the movie will be streaming, it is really anyone's guess at this point.
Showbiz Direct has no ongoing agreement with any of the major streaming platforms, so, Reagan will likely end up going to the highest bidder on that front.
Reagan is now playing in theaters.
