Lots of people went to see Barbie — the Greta Gerwig-directed movie about the famous Mattel doll — in theaters. Now, Max is offering the hot-pink cultural phenomenon to its streaming subscribers.
In Barbie, Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Ryan Gosling’s Ken travel from Barbie Land to the real world, which holds all sorts of surprises. The star-studded cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Ariana Greenblatt, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michael Cera and more.
The movie has become the highest-grossing Warner Bros. global release of all time. Here’s how you can stream the blockbuster from your human-size couch.
Barbie is coming to the small screen, thanks to Max.
Warner Bros
When to watch Barbie on Max
Dec. 15 is the best day ever, as Robbie’s Barbie might say, because it’s when you can start to stream the Barbie movie on Max. The movie will be available at 12 a.m. PT (3 a.m. ET). The film will also stream on the platform in American Sign Language.
Max has three plans: $10-a-month Max With Ads, $16-a-month Max Ad-Free and $20-a-month Max Ultimate Ad-Free. The streamer’s offerings include HBO and Max originals, Warner Bros. movies, DC Comics films, and programming from networks such as HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC and ID.
You can also rent Greta Gerwig’s Barbie for $6 from services including Amazon, Apple TV and Vudu. If you want to pair Barbie with Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer, which hit theaters on the same day as Barbie in July, it’s available to buy for $20 from the same services.
If you know you want to be locked into Max for a year, you can save money by choosing an annual plan. For example, a year of ad-supported Max is $100, $20 less than if you paid one month at a time.
How to watch Barbie from anywhere with a VPN
Perhaps you’re traveling abroad and want to stream Max while away from home. With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access the movie from anywhere in the world. There are other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming, too.
A VPN is the best way to stop your internet service provider from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you’re traveling and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and log-ins when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that’s passed our tests and security standards.
You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you’re using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list such as Surfshark or NordVPN.
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If you’re looking for a secure and dependable VPN, our Editors’ Choice is ExpressVPN. It’s fast, works on multiple devices, and provides stable streams. It’s normally $13 a month, but it currently costs less overall to go for a 12-month subscription, where each month shakes out to $8.32.
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our review of ExpressVPN.
Follow the VPN provider’s instructions for installation, and choose the United States, where Barbie will be streaming on Max. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you are connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream Barbie on more than one device, it’s possible that you’ll need to configure each one to ensure you are signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify that you’re logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you’re ready to open Max to stream.
If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you’ve followed installation instructions correctly and picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services will restrict VPN access.