We always expected Spider-Man: No Way Home to be a massive success at the box office, but nobody could have foreseen what a huge hit it would turn out to be.
The final movie in the MCU Spider-Man trilogy broke all pandemic records, becoming the first film to surpass $1 billion at the box office during the health crisis. Moreover, the Sony-Marvel production topped $1.77 billion worldwide, according to the latest figures. That’s despite delayed releases in some markets. And it doesn’t include China, which would have been a massive market for the film.
As successful as it has been, plenty of Spider-Man fans are waiting for No Way Home to hit streaming services to see the movie for the first time.
Unfortunately, Disney Plus isn’t the first streaming service to get No Way Home. That’s the natural home for all of Marvel’s other MCU creations. But Spider-Man movies are different. Here’s why.
Disney Plus will have to wait
Sony owns the rights to all Spider-Man movies. Marvel and Disney can’t just use Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the MCU however it wants. Therefore, Disney Plus can’t just start streaming No Way Home once the theatrical window closes.
As for Sony, the giant corporation doesn’t own a streaming service of its own. Instead, it has deals in place with various streamers that license Sony’s movies. Disney will be one of them, but not right away.
Disney and Sony inked a streaming deal in mid-April 2021. At the time, we explained that Disney was getting its ducks in a row, so it’s ready to welcome the MCU Spider-Man movies on its platform. That also included streaming rights for No Way Home.
However, we told you back then that the deal is complicated. Disney Plus won’t get No Way Home immediately after the theater release window. Recently, we explained that Disney Plus might not get No Way Home until some point in 2023. At the time, reports said that the film could go to Starz and Netflix streaming first.
Here’s where Spider-Man: No Way Home is streaming first
It turns out that the earlier report saying that Starz will be streaming No Way Home was accurate. CEO Jeffrey Hirsch confirmed to Deadline that No Way Home will begin streaming on the platform soon.
The interview did not focus on Sony and Marvel’s massive hit at the box office. Hirsch talked broadly about the company’s strategy when it comes to streaming content. But No Way Home is obviously a big, huge win for the streaming platform.
As such, Hirsch dropped the news that Spider-Man: No Way Home will hit Starz within the next six months, though he didn’t provide a firm release date. The plan is to take advantage of the big No Way Home appeal to lure Spider-Man fans into other Starz shows. As long as “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 could deliver a significant boost to Starz’s streaming efforts.
Starz will release seven series in the next two quarters, the same Deadline report revealed. That’s to say it’ll have plenty of new content to position around No Way Home once it starts streaming.
Before that happens, we’ll get the No Way Home Blu-ray/digital release. This will include plenty of bonus content, including a few exciting deleted scenes that recently leaked.
Until then, No Way Home is still available in theaters if you want to revisit the story or see it for the first time.
