It’s been a great year for the movies, with Barbenheimer reigniting the cinema-going experience and a range of late-2023 films like Saltburn and The Holdovers reinstalling hope for original titles with an indie flair. Adding to that list is Leave the World Behind, which could have easily been another forgettable apocalyptic flick but has instead received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.Â
Directed by Sam Esmail of Mr. Robot fame, Leave the World Behind follows a vacationing family in the midst of a mysterious cyber attack, with a starry cast that includes Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon. The film had its worldwide premiere at AFI Fest on October 25, 2023, where it debuted alongside fellow buzzy titles like the Bradley Cooper-starring Maestro.
So as the year wraps up and we collate our holiday watchlists outside of the regular Christmas programming (it’s officially Love Actually season), where can we watch Julia Roberts’ Leave the World Behind?
Where can I watch Julia Roberts’ Leave the World Behind?
Leave the World Behind was shown in select theatres internationally from November 22, 2023 but that theatrical run has since ended. Now, the film will be available to stream worldwide on Netflix from December 8, 2023. Netflix scored the distribution rights to Leave the World Behind all the way back in 2020, beating out the likes of Apple and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The first official trailer for Leave the World Behind was released in November, with a final trailer arriving on December 6, 2023. The psychological thriller is based on the 2020 novel of the same name written by Rumaan Alam, which was met with acclaim by critics and was nominated for the National Book Award. It is produced by the Obama-founded Higher Ground, with Barrack himself even having a hand in contributing to the script.
Leave the World Behind adds to an impressive string of releases distributed by Netflix in 2023, with the streamer elsewhere finding success with David Fincher’s The Killer, Todd Haynes’ May December starring Natalie Portman, and Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Netflix might have a shot at an Academy Award in 2023, too, with the streamer’s Bradley Cooper-director biopic, Maestro, earning Oscar buzz for the actor and his co-star, Carey Mulligan.
In any case, most audiences will have to wait to make their own mind up about Leave the World Behind, which hits Netflix screens on December 8, 2023.
