Disney and Pixar may be struggling at the box office as of late, but Universal Pictures and Illumination have been on a roll for the past three years. Illumination’s Sing 2 and Minions: The Rise of Gru were the top-grossing animated films of 2021 and 2022, respectively. This year, Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the second-biggest hit of any domestic film. Only Barbie made more money. To close out 2023, Illumination has one more original animated film under its wings: Migration.
Benjamin Renner and Mike White came up with the story for Migration, but White is the only credited screenwriter on the film. Renner also co-directed it alongside Guylo Homsy as they follow the misadventures of a family of ducks who are attempting to travel from New England to Jamaica.
Kumail Nanjiani headlines the voice cast as Mack Mallard, with Elizabeth Banks as Pam Mallard, Caspar Jennings as Dax Mallard, Tresi Gazal as Gwen Mallard, Awkwafina as Chump, Keegan-Michael Key as Delroy, David Mitchell as Googoo, Carol Kane as Erin, and Danny DeVito as Dan.
Now that Migration has arrived in theaters, it’s time to let you know if you can also stream it from the comfort of your own homes this holiday season.
Is Migration streaming?
No, not yet. Although Five Nights at Freddy’s had great success with its day-and-date theatrical and streaming release, that’s usually not the case. Animated movies tend to do better in theaters when they aren’t readily available to stream. Even the idea that an animated movie will quickly head to streaming helped doom Disney’s Wish at the box office last month.
It’s too soon to say how well Migration will perform opposite Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, but counterprogramming films for families during the holiday season has worked in the past. We won’t know if it worked this time until Saturday at the earliest.
Where will Migration be available to stream at home?
As a Universal Pictures film, Migration‘s first streaming stop will be on Peacock. Universal has been known to send animated flicks to Peacock as soon as 17 days after they hit theaters. But unless Migration absolutely bombs in theaters, a February or March streaming premiere on Peacock is more likely.
Earlier this year, Universal also demonstrated its willingness to send its animated films to outside streamers. Since Migration is animated, it will likely join The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Netflix around the middle of 2024. And then it will eventually migrate back to Peacock.
Migration is now playing in theaters.
