Timothée Chalamet’s highly-anticipated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical prequel Wonka is almost here, and critics are already calling it a “winning confection” and “an instant holiday classic”—aka two phrases I personally use to describe my favorite peppermint martini recipe.
More rave reviews, incoming:
Now, if all of this ^^ is leaving you asking yourself the v important question of when you can watch Wonka for yourself, dw we’ve got all the deets surrounding its theatrical and streaming release for ya!
First things first: What is Wonka about?
TL;DR: It’s essentially a prequel that explores the origin story of the most fabled chocolatier we’ve all come to know: Willy Wonka. And in this iteration, director Paul King and his co-writer Simon Farnaby culled major inspo from the much-loved Roald Dahl work that started it all in order to chronicle the opening of the protagonist’s (played by Timothée Chalamet) first sweet shop with the help of an Oompa-Loompa played by none other than *checks notes* Hugh Grant.
Back in October, King actually opened up to Empire about how the idea for this curious casting came about: “[It began with] going back to the book, and reading all those poems, and hearing their voice as a cynical, sarcastic, cruel, funny, but wicked voice, and then I went, ‘Oh… That’s sort of a bit like Hugh!’…It was a real light bulb moment—you go, ‘Hugh Grant’s an Oompa-Loompa! Yes please! Merry Christmas, with a bow on it.'”
Honestly obsessed lol.
And speaking of Hugh…
Who else is in the Wonka cast?
Aside from the powerhouses that are Kylie’s boyfriend Timothée and Hugh, other cast members include Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, Matt Lucas, and Jim Carter.
Where can I stream Wonka?
Kk, here’s the deal: Wonka currently has a theatrical release date of December 15, 2023, so def mark your calendars if you wanna watch it IRL at the movie theatre. How-ev-er!!! If you’d much prefer to view it from the comfort of your home (or your situationship’s home for that matter—we don’t judge!), we can expect streaming platforms to carry it around February 2024 given Warner Bros.’ pattern of releasing its films to these sites ~30-45 days *after* their exclusive run in theaters.
But when that day finally comes, girl math tells us the first place you’ll likely be able to watch Wonka will be on Max since it’s owned by Warner Bros. Pictures. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
P.S. A Max subscription comes in three tiers:
- An ad-supported subscription that costs $9.99 a month/$99.99 a year
- An ad-free subscription that costs $15.99 a month/$149.99 a year
- An ultimate ad-free subscription that costs $19.99 a month/$199.99 a year
P.P.S. You can also “borrow” a friend’s/parent’s/said situationship’s account credentials and simply view Wonka that way. 😉 The more you know!
So where can I watch it in the meantime?
Alas dear reader, that would be in the land of $15 popcorn and unlimited refills: the movie theatre. Sadly, you’ll still have to wait until December 15, but once that rolls around, you’ll be able to watch Timmy (and his top hat) on the big screen.
Assistant news editor
Gretty Garcia is the assistant news editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers all things news, entertainment, and pop culture. Before joining Cosmo, Gretty was a social strategist for Mrs. Dow Jones and a features and special projects editor at Editorialist. She holds an MS from the Columbia Journalism School and studied art history at Harvard College.
