Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is officially set to make a streaming splash in late February.
Per a Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) press release, the final film in the recently defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU) will make its actual streaming debut on Max on Tuesday, February 27. Given that HBO Max's successor is only available in the US, though, it's unclear when Aquaman's second big-screen adventure will be released on a non-premium video on demand (PVOD) service in the UK or Australia.
The tide is turning. #Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will be available to stream February 27 exclusively on Max. pic.twitter.com/Z2kVtpbDnWFebruary 20, 2024
Aquaman 2's impending launch on Max comes almost two weeks after it made its digital stores debut in the UK. The DC movie was made available to rent and buy via Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV, and Vudu on British shores on February 7. It had previously been made available to rent or buy stateside on January 23, with that online launch coming less than a month after it had swam into theaters worldwide.
In our Aquaman 2 digital stores article, we suggested that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would eventually land on Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services, in March, so WBD's announcement has proved we were slightly off with that prediction.
Considering that the DCEU's final movie made a small profit for WBD – in doing so, it also bucked the studio's recent trend of superhero movie box-office bombs – and with attentions turning to James Gunn's rebooted DC Cinematic Universe (DCU), it's in WBD's best interests to finally release Aquaman 2 on its super-streamer service. Given its incredibly poor 34% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, though, you shouldn't expect Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to find a spot on our best Max movies list.
When and where will Aquaman 2 be streaming in the UK and Australia?
That's difficult to predict. Given that WBD has licensing deals in place with Sky (UK) and Foxtel (Australia), the smart money would be on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom breaching the wave on these services.
However, due to a recent partnership between WBD and Netflix, 2018's Aquaman – and a number of other DCEU flicks – are also available to stream on Netflix in Australia. Certain DCEU films are also viewable on Netflix in the UK, such as The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984. Aquaman, though, isn't among that contingent on British shores – indeed, it's only available to rent or purchase from the same digital stores as its sequel.
If you're a UK or Australian resident and you've been holding out for Aquaman 2 to come to a streaming service you already pay for, then, it might be a long wait. As mentioned, it was only recently made available on digital storefronts in the UK (it can also be rented or bought in Australia, according to justwatch.com), so WBD will want it to make as much cash as possible from digital sales before it sets an official streaming release date for these island nations. Essentially, don't hold your breath for The Lost Kingdom's arrival on Netflix anytime soon.
