Is Tom Hanks’ New Movie ‘A Man Called Otto’ Streaming? When Will it Come to Netflix, Hulu?
Tom Hanks is back on the big screen, in what is sure to be his grumpiest role yet. Hanks stars in the new Sony Pictures Entertainment movie “A Man Called Otto,” which is getting a wide release in theaters across the United States on Friday, Jan. 13. The film saw a limited release in New York and Los Angeles theaters in December 2022.
Based on the No. 1 New York Times bestseller “A Man Called Ove,” “A Man Called Otto” tells the story of Otto Anderson, a grump who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife. Otto is ready to end it all, but his plans are interrupted when a lively young family moves in next door, and he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol. She challenges him to see life differently, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world around.
The film has gotten a so-so reception from critics, with 66% of official reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes giving their thumbs-up. Audiences are much more enthusiastic, as 97% of the over 500 fan reviews on the site are positive. Many who have seen the film call it Hanks’ best role yet.
Watch a Trailer for ‘A Man Called Otto’:
If you’re a Hanks die-hard fan, or simply love having your heart warmed, you may want to know when you’ll be able to stream “A Man Called Otto” from home.
As a Sony-distributed movie, “A Man Called Otto” will almost certainly head to Netflix first. Sony signed a deal with the world's largest streaming service in 2021 to bring Sony movies to Netflix for an exclusive 18-month window following the end of their theatrical release windows.
After that 18-month period, another Sony deal with Disney stipulates its films will move to a Disney-owned streaming service. Given its PG-13 rating and grumpy old man storyline, the movie is a much better fit for Hulu than it is for Disney+ when the time comes.
There’s also an outside chance that “A Man Called Otto” ends up on a different streamer entirely. The new Navy fighter pilot drama “Devotion” is a Sony release, but the movie headed to Paramount+ after a 46-day theatrical window, skipping Netflix entirely. This was likely a promotional move by Paramount to raise the profile of “Top Gun: Maverick,” its most successful movie of the year.
Another streamer acquiring “A Man Called Otto” for promotional purposes isn’t terribly likely, so the best bet is that it will stick with the Netflix-to-Hulu pipeline. Just exactly when that might be is a more difficult question to answer, as Sony has not been eager to rush its latest films to streaming. “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” was released by the studio 95 days ago (as of this writing), and it’s been 116 days since “The Woman King” first came to theaters and neither is yet available to stream other than by renting or buying them digitally.
Sony is likely getting good value from those films on premium video-on-demand (PVOD) services like Prime Video and iTunes where they are now available. The more people are willing to rent or purchase Sony’s movies before they arrive on a subscription streamer, the longer it will take for the company to release them to Netflix. Given that information, it may take as long as 120 days for “A Man Called Otto” to come to streaming.
A 120-day theatrical/PVOD window would bring “A Man Called Otto” to streaming around May 13, 2023. That’s our best guess of when you’ll be able to stream Tom Hanks’ newest movie from the comfort of your couch on Netflix.
Netflix
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