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'Where the Crawdads Sing' Likely Won't Hit Netflix Until Next Year

If you're holding out for the Southern drama film to hit Netflix, you'll be waiting a long time -- it'll likely take months to start streaming.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
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  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
Joan E. Solsman
Daisy Edgar-Jones, as Kya, stands in the woods with her back against a large tree.

Where the Crawdads Sing hit theaters -- and only theaters -- Friday. 

Michele K. Short/Sony Pictures

Where the Crawdads Sing, a lush Hollywood adaptation of the popular mystery-thriller novel, hit theaters Friday. And though lots of movies are reaching streaming services much faster than they would've before the COVID-19 pandemic, Where the Crawdads Sing isn't likely to be one of them.  

Where will Where the Crawdads Sing stream? 

The film is going to stream first on Netflix. The movie is distributed by Sony, which struck a deal with Netflix last year for all its 2022 theatrical releases to stream on Netflix before they're available on any other service or TV network.  

When is Where the Crawdads Sing's streaming release date?

Neither Netflix nor Sony has confirmed a streaming release date for the movie yet. Netflix's deal with Sony is what's known as a "pay-one window." Traditionally pre-pandemic, movies hit this stage of release roughly six to nine months after first arriving in theaters. 

And true to that pattern, some recent Sony movies have taken that long to come to Netflix. Uncharted, for example, came out in February and still hasn't reached Netflix yet: In the US, it's confirmed to start streaming there Aug. 19 -- that's six months after it hit theaters. 

If that six-month timeline holds true for Where the Crawdads Sing, it won't be available to stream on Netflix until next year, at the earliest in mid-January.