Let's be real for a second: The "Borderlands" movie seemed doomed from the start. If trying to sanitize a video game series famous for its over-the-top crude humor to fit into a PG-13 rating wasn't enough of a death knell, its lengthy stay in production limbo and trailers full of aging pop culture riffs all but sealed the deal before it ever hit theaters.
Still, as a fan of the games, I am morbidly curious to see what my colleague called in his "Borderlands" review "one hell of a throwback" to the god-awful video game adaptations of yesteryear. (You know, before excellent projects like "The Last Of Us" on Max, Netflix's "Arcane" and Prime Video's "Fallout" TV series surprised us all.) If, like me, you're aiming to watch this trainwreck without spending a penny on it, you're probably wondering when "Borderlands" will make its streaming debut.
Here’s everything we know so far about when “Borderlands” will be available to stream.
When will 'Borderlands' be available to stream?
The live-action movie adaptation of Gearbox and 2K's iconic video game series hit theaters nationwide on August 9, 2024. Once it leaves theaters, "Borderlands" will be available to stream on Starz, given distributor Lionsgate's licensing deals.
There's no telling exactly when that'll be yet, but our money's on sooner rather than later. "Borderlands" saw a disastrous opening weekend, earning just $8.8 million in the U.S. and $7.7 million in international markets, Variety reports. Given its estimated $110-120 million budget, Lionsgate will likely be eager to recoup what it fails to see in ticket sales by bringing "Borderlands" to streaming platforms.
Unfortunately, Lionsgate has yet to announce a streaming release date for "Borderlands." Two of the distributor's next movies to hit streaming — "The Strangers: Chapter One" and "Imaginary" — are set to debut on Starz 136 and 180 days after their respective theatrical debuts. If Lionsgate follows this same schedule for "Borderlands," we're likely to see it come to Starz sometime between Christmas and the first week of February.
After streaming on Starz, Lionsgate movies briefly go to the Roku Channel before heading to Peacock. But that likely won't happen with "Borderlands" until spring 2025.