Is Creepy Doll Horror Film ‘M3GAN’ Available to Stream? When Will it Head to Peacock, Netflix?

If your 2023 hasn’t started on an unsettling enough foot yet, the newest movie from Universal Studios might be just the ticket for you. Universal is releasing its new thriller “M3GAN” in theaters on Friday, Jan. 6.

“M3GAN” focuses on Gemma, a robotics expert working on a highly advanced project. When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned eight-year-old niece, Cady, she finds herself unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve all of her problems — a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.

Critics are loving the film on Rotten Tomatoes, where 95% of reviewers have given it the thumbs up. Audiences have called it a fun psycho-technological romp through a future horror-scape that seems uncomfortably close to present realities.

Check out a Trailer for ‘M3GAN’:

If you’d rather stay home to enjoy the escapades of murderous robot dolls, you may want to know when and where “M3GAN” will be available to stream at home. The “when” is a little murky, but because the film is being distributed by Universal Studios, we do know it will be sent to NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock first when it’s made available to stream.

There’s a good chance that “M3GAN” will also end up on Netflix, but not until at least 2027. Netflix and Universal struck a deal in 2021 to bring animated content from the studio to the streamer, and live-action content is also included in the pact. But under the terms of the agreement, Netflix doesn’t get the streaming rights to live-action Universal content until four years after its initial release.

All of that brings us back to the question of when “M3GAN” will be available to stream. NBCUniversal has been a bit inconsistent with the theatrical windows for horror movies over the last year. It released both “Beast” and “The Black Phone” to streaming after 45 days in theaters, but other horror/thrillers from Universal saw markedly different release strategies from the company.

On one extreme, the franchise-ending “Halloween Ends” got a day-and-date release on Peacock on Oct. 14; clearly done to promote the service’s horror credentials around the Halloween holiday. On the other end of the spectrum, Jordan Peele’s newest thriller “Nope” didn’t see a streaming release until the 120-day mark. The long delay was likely driven by the film’s success on digital rental and purchase platforms, where “Nope” was available for nearly three months before heading to Peacock.

Our best guess as of now is that “M3GAN” will follow the path of “The Black Phone” and “Beast,” and come to streaming 45 days after its initial release. That would bring it to Peacock on Monday, Feb. 20, the perfect late Valentine’s Day gift to horror movie lovers everywhere.