‘The Bad Guys’ Coming to Netflix in Late 2022

DreamWorks’ new animated movie The Bad Guys is slowly releasing around the world theatrically and will be among the first wave of titles coming to Netflix as part of newly struck animation deals in the United States. Here’s when we’re expecting The Bad Guys on Netflix.

Set to release in late April in the United States (other regions saw it released theatrically through March and early April), the new animated movie comes from director Pierre Perifel and is based on the illustrated children’s books by Aaron Blabey.

The movie's voice actors include Sam Rockwell and Craig Robinson as well as Anthony Ramos and Awkwafina.

What time will The Bad Guys air on Netflix USA?

The DreamWorks deal allows us to predict with some accuracy when The Bad Guys will be available for streaming in America.

Per the deal, Netflix US will have part of what’s called the pay-1 window. This window lasts 18 months and begins 45 days after the theatrical release of the film.

The movie streaming at Peacock will be available for 4 months. After that, Netflix will offer 10 month-long access. Peacock then returns to Peacock again for the last 4 months.

If that’s the case, here’s a rough estimate of when it’ll be streaming:

• Theatrical release window: April 22nd – June 6th, 2022
• Peacock Window 1: June 6th – October 6th, 2022
• Netflix Window 1: October 6th, 2022 – August 6th, 2023
• Peacock Window 2: August 6th – December 6th, 2023

Netflix would also then be expected to receive the movie again in the second window in 2026 but that’s yet to be confirmed.

The future release of Minions: Rise of Gru and Mario will be part of the deal.

Are The Bad Guys going to be available on Netflix in the United States?

Outside the United States, we sadly don’t know the plans for Dreamworks and Illumination titles as of yet. As a result, don’t expect to be streaming The Bad Guys at the end of 2022 as the US will.

Based on previous years, Dreamworks movies don’t typically come to Netflix UK until two years after their premiere theatrically (as with the case for Trolls: World Tour). If that’s the case for this movie, you won’t be seeing it until 2024.

Many regions of Netflix such as Canada, Latin America, and other select regions just received 2019’s Abominable. If that’s the case for these regions for The Bad Guys, it won’t be available until late 2024/2025.

We’ll keep this post updated over time to reflect changing information as and when we get it.

Do you want to see The Bad Guys on Netflix, or are you already looking forward? Comment below.