When Will ‘The Whale’ Be On Streaming?

Brenan Fraser is in the midst of a well-deserved comeback, and for that he can thank The Whale. The A24 drama, directed by Darren Aronofsky, was an awards season staple, not only netting Fraser his first-ever Oscar but also an Academy Award nomination for supporting player Hong Chau. It did pretty well at the box office, too, for a small indie, amassing $17 million in the U.S. and Canada alone. But for those who missed it in theaters, can it be streamed?

The answer is: yes, but not as part of a streamer’s subscription. Instead you’ll have to rent or buy it. It’s available on major renting streamers, such as Amazon Prime and Vudu, for $4.99. On Apple TV+, it’s $5.99.

There’s no word yet when The Whale will be available as part of a streamer subscription, such as Netflix, HBO Max or Hulu, and it’s hard to predict when that will be or where it will land. A24 tends to shuffle its library among different streamers rather than give one of them exclusive access.

Based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, The Whale concerns Charlie (Fraser), a morbidly obese and reclusive English instructor who, like the hero of Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, wishes to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Sadie Sink). Chau plays Charlie’s only friend while Samantha Morton plays his ex-wife.