Once again, a low-budget horror movie has scored big at the box office. This time, it’s Buddy, a new Barney-esque slasher from the producers of Weapons. Buddy exceeded expectations this weekend, earning over $5.3 million at the domestic box office, more than double what it was projected to make. Moviegoers continue to show up for horror!

Directed by horror filmmaker Casper Kelly (known for writing 2018’s Mandy, and for writing/directing the Adult Film Yule Log movies), with a screenplay written by Kelly and Jamie King, Buddy tells the story of an educational children’s TV show that centered around a giant, talking, orange unicorn named Buddy. But one day, one of the children on the show learns what happens when you don’t play along with Buddy’s fun, educational games. And it’s not very cute at all. In fact, it’s down right horrifying.

Cristin Milioti stars in the film as a mother searching for her child who went missing on the TV series, and Keegan-Michael Key stars as the voice of Buddy the Unicorn. Other cast members include Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, and Topher Grace. This sounds like a fun one to watch on the big screen, but if you’d rather watch it at home, then read on to find out what we know about the Buddy movie digital release date.

Where to watch the Buddy movie:

Right now, Buddy is only available to watch in a movie theater. You can find a showing near you via Fandango. Buddy is not yet available to watch online or on streaming.

That said, we expect you will soon be able to purchase Buddy on Prime Video, when the movie becomes available to buy and rent on digital.

When is the Buddy movie digital release date?

You might see the Buddy digital release date some time around early October 2026.

The Buddy movie digital release date has not yet been officially announced. However, we can make an educated guess as to when we might see Buddy on video-on-demand, based on the digital release of previous films from Roadside Attractions.

Another Roadside Attractions movie, Lucky Strike, was released on digital platforms a little over five weeks after opening in theaters. If Buddy follows a similar pattern, you might seethe movie on video-on-demand in about one month, around early October 2026. That said, other Roadside movies have taken two months to come to digital, so you might be waiting until late October or early November.

When will the Buddy movie be streaming free on Peacock, Netflix, Prime Videoo, etc.?

We’re not sure when, if ever, the Buddy movie will be available on a subscription-based streaming service.

Buddy is being distributed by Roadside Attractions in theaters, an independent studio that does not currently have an output deal with any of the streamers. (Previously, Roadside Attractions had a “Pay 1” output deal with Hulu. But none of the 2026 Roadside movies have gone on to stream on Hulu, so it seems that deal is no longer in effect.)

While it’s very possible that one of the streamers will snatch up the rights to Buddy after the film is released on digital, given that the movie has been popular in theaters, right now we just don’t know. If you want to see  Buddy right away, you can catch the movie in a theater, or wait for it to come to digital, likely in early October.