Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently dominating the box office as fans flock to theaters to witness the Spider-Man trio of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland team-up against villains from the Multiverse. So far, the MCU threequel has easily surpassed the billion-dollar mark, officially earning $1.74 billion globally. While No Way Home is still dominating the box office, some fans are already eager to bring the movie into the comforts of their home.
Now that the movie has been in theaters for more than six weeks, a lingering mystery ties to the film's release timeline on Disney+. Marvel diehards are well aware that No Way Home's debut on the House of Mouse's streaming service will not happen anytime soon, mainly due to the deals made by Sony Pictures in the past.
Still, No Way Home is expected to arrive on digital sooner than expected as it was confirmed that it will be available to purchase online via Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and Vudu starting on February 28, 2022.
It's a different story altogether for No Way Home's streaming release. Now, the first piece of the streaming puzzle has been revealed in a new interview.
When Will Spider-Man: No Way Home Start Streaming?
Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch confirmed in a recent Lionsgate earnings call, via Deadline, that Spider-Man: No Way Home will start streaming on Starz within the next six months.
While discussing the audience behavior of Starz, Hirsch casually confirmed that the start of the film's Starz release window will be at some point between now and August 2022:
“On the linear side, people are scrolling the channels and there are a lot more movies than original series. You put the right shows and content around it so you can move customers that watch Spider-Man into one of your originals."
No Way Home's streaming release on Starz is part of Sony Pictures' Pay 1 partnership with the streamer. The Pay 1 window allows Starz to obtain exclusive streaming rights to a film following its standard video-on-demand window.
Looking Ahead to No Way Home's Disney+ Release
This six-month streaming release window for No Way Home is not the same with MCU releases like Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Eternals. On top of being produced by Sony Pictures, the reason behind the lengthy wait for the film's streaming release could be its current dominance at the box office.
Sony may have decided to prolong No Way Home's stay in theaters, even with its reported digital release, to keep moving up in the standings of the all-time box office list. While it currently stands at $1.74 billion, there's a chance that the studio is aiming to nab a $2 billion run for the threequel.
Morbius' delayed release to April 2022 further solidified this claim, meaning that Sony is potentially going all-out to support No Way Home's historic box office run.
On the flip side, there's also a chance of logistical challenges behind the six-month release window. At this point, Sony has yet to confirm No Way Home's physical release. This means that streaming sites such as Starz would need to wait for the official physical release of the film before venturing into the streaming realm.
While No Way Home is Sony's final film to be released on Starz, the streaming service could still benefit from its debut, especially after the overwhelmingly positive reception from fans and critics towards the threequel.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing theaters worldwide.
