Is 'The Machine' Streaming on HBO Max or Netflix?

Directed by Peter Atencio, The Machine is the latest action comedy movie starring Mark Hamill and comedian Bert Kreischer, who plays a fictionalized version of himself. Luckily, we have you covered on all the ways you can watch this new flick!

Based on Kreischer’s 2016 stand-up comedy routine of the same name, The Machine follows the comedian and his father, played by Hamill, as they are kidnapped by those Kreischer wronged decades earlier during his booze-filled college trip to Russia.

So how can you watch The Machine? Will it be on Netflix? What about HBO Max?

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming movie:

WHERE TO WATCH THE MACHINE:

As of now, the only way to watch The Machine is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Friday, May 26. You can find a local showing on Fandango. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or buy on digital platforms such as Amazon, Vudu, Apple and YouTube, or become available to stream on Netflix. Read on for more information.

WILL THE MACHINE BE ON NETFLIX?

Yes, The Machine will likely be on Netflix as a result of a deal inked between the streaming platform and its distributor Screen Gems’ parent company, Sony Pictures. The deal gives the streamer U.S. rights to all the company’s theatrical films starting in 2022.

While a streaming release date has not yet been announced, we can make an estimate based on another recent Sony film. The Woman King was released in theaters on Sept. 16, 2022, before it came to Netflix on Feb. 16, 2023 — around five months after it debuted. If The Machine follows the same pattern, we could be watching from the comfort of our homes by late October 2023.

However, a digital release date should arrive much sooner. The Storm Reid-led thriller Missing was released in theaters on Jan. 20 before becoming available to purchase or rent on March 7 — about 45 days after its debut. By that logic, The Machine should come to digital by mid-July 2023.

WILL THE MACHINE BE ON HBO MAX?

No, The Machine will not be HBO Max since it’s not a Warner Bros. movie. In the meantime, you’ll just have to head out to a movie theater or wait for it to become available to stream on Netflix.