The DCEU’s final flick, and one of its most highly-anticipated, is officially in theaters.
The Flash sprinted into cinemas with quite the trail of controversy and praise riding its yellow and orange-tinted motion blur. Between the Ezra Miller of it all, paired with reports of reshoots, issues, and clunky CGI, the film nearly got a bad rap — up until several major names stepped up to saturate it in praise. We’re not entirely sure how to feel about that Tom Cruise endorsement, but with the likes of Stephen King and James Gunn standing behind it, plenty of viewers are holding out hope that The Flash will actually deliver what it promises.
Most people have yet to set their sights on the multiverse-shattering flick, and plenty won’t find the time — or money — to see the film in theaters. They’re instead content to sit this one out, and await the film’s arrival on streaming.
The Flash streaming release window
Most major blockbuster releases see a wait of at least a few months before they make the transition to streaming, and we shouldn’t expect anything different from The Flash. The film officially arrived in theaters on June 16, and will likely enjoy a several week — to several month — theatrical lifespan before it’s replaced by the next big release.
Max, HBO’s rebranded streaming service, gave us an easy answer for The Flash, by announcing nice and early that the flick will arrive on Max this fall. While the general statement of “fall” is still pretty vague, it does give eager viewers a relatively clear release window. Fall officially starts, in 2023, on September 23 (at 1:49 AM, if that matters to anyone) so we know the film won’t be arriving on streaming before mid-month. Winter, meanwhile, officially rolls in on December 21, which feels a bit late if you live in a colder area, but that’s how the seasons shake up this year.
That gives us a clear, if broad, release window for The Flash‘s official arrival on Max. The film should drop on the service between late September and mid-December, but its far more likely to land on the earlier end of this stretch. Most films enjoy a wait of between 45-60 days between theatrical release and streaming debut, and a late September release would put The Flash solidly past this typical window, with more than three months separating its initial release and streaming arrival.
So we predict the film will debut on Max between mid-September and mid-October, in order to keep anticipation high, but maintain at least some of the hype currently attached to the film. None of these dates have been concretely confirmed by the powers that be, of course, but since we do have confirmation of a window, audiences can rest easy knowing they’ll get their chance to see The Flash on streaming before winter fully sets in.