Is Navy Fighter Pilot Movie ‘Devotion’ Available to Stream Now? When Will it Head to Netflix, Hulu?
One of the greatest war stories never told is coming to the big screen. “Devotion” is hitting theaters around the U.S. on Wednesday, Nov. 23, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The movie tells the story of Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner. Initially divided by the color of their skin, the two men form a close bond that helps them become the U.S. Navy’s most celebrated wingmen during the Korean War. Flying prop planes instead of the more technologically advanced jet fighters, Brown and Hudner overcome antiquated equipment and attitudes to forge a friendship and help win the war.
The film stars Jonathan Majors and Glenn Powell and has been well received by critics and casual fans on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critic score of 78% and an audience score of 96%.
Watch a Trailer for ‘Devotion’:
If this blend of action and moving drama looks like a winning combination to you, you’re probably wondering whether the movie will be available to stream any time soon. Sony’s status as a content arms dealer makes it a bit trickier to figure out when the movie will head to streaming, since no official announcement has been made regarding a date.
However, recent releases from Sony can offer some hints as to when the movie might be available to stream. What we do know for a certainty is that when the movie does head out of theaters, it will go to Netflix first. Thanks to a deal struck in 2021 between Sony and Netflix, Netflix will be the first stop on any Sony Pictures movie’s streaming journey, including “Devotion.”
Netflix will not be the movie’s last stop, however. Thanks to a deal between Sony and Disney, Sony Pictures films jump to a Disney-owned streaming service after an 18-month window on Netflix. “Devotion” comes with a war-time setting and generally more mature themes, so it’s a perfect fit for Hulu once its Netflix stint comes to an end.
As for the “when” question, Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Anthony J. Vinciquerra spoke in August about Sony’s windowing strategy, which can give us some clues about when “Devotion” might end up streaming.
“Some films, we’ve had less than 45 days, not a lot, but films that weren’t doing great in the theater, we [pulled] out because it wasn’t helping the theaters, or it wasn’t helping us, so why not go to the other windows,” he said. “But 45 days does feel like the right number for the majority of films, but you’ll see longer and shorter [windows from Sony], I think.”
The real X-factor in the speculation is whether or not “Devotion” receives any Oscar consideration. If the film gets buzz from those in the industry, it could remain in theaters longer than 45 days to help boost its profile in time for the March awards ceremony. Theatrical is not the only window that must be considered, however. Since Sony doesn’t have its own streaming service, before it ships its films off to Netflix, it will put them on transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) platforms like Prime Video for an extended period where they can be rented and purchased in order to try and monetize them as much as possible before it streams.
Given all these factors, our best guess is a theatrical/TVOD window for “Devotion” would be 70 days. That would bring the movie to Netflix on Wednesday, Feb. 1, which would keep it fresh in the minds of awards voters and give the film a chance to achieve financial success.
Netflix
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