James Wan, the creative force behind some of the most successful horror franchises in recent memory – including Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring – returns with a brand-new movie about a woman plagued by visions of real-life murder. It’s already received acclaim for its shocks, surprises, and grisly originality, and we explain here how to watch Malignant online with a HBO Max membership, available for 31 days after its theatrical debut.
- Watch now in the US with an HBO Max subscription
Release date: Friday, September 10, 2021
Director: James Wan
Cast: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, Jake Abel, Ingrid Bisu.
Run time: 1 hour 51 minutes
Rating: R
Watch in US: subscribe to HBO Max
Based on an original story by Wan, Ingrid Bisu, and screenwriter Akelka Cooper, Malignant follows the plight of Maddison Mitchell (Annabelle Wallis), a woman who, traumatised by recent events, begins to witness a shadowy figure committing violent murders in her sleep. Turns out they actually happened.
Fearing for her sanity and a prime police suspect, Maddison and her sister Sydney (Maddie Hasson) embark on their own investigation; discovering along the way that events are somehow connected to Maddison’s childhood imaginary best friend, Gabriel…who might just be, y'know, the devil.
While Wan’s horror movie reputation was founded on haunted houses full of creeping menaces, Malignant looks to chart new territory.
Also starring Mckenna Grace (Annabelle Comes Home), Michole Briana White, Jake Abel and Ingrid Bisu (The Nun), expect Wan’s latest to be a heart-racing shocker with a defiantly demented third-act. Feeling brave? Then read on as we detail how to watch Malignant online now.
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How to watch Malignant online in the US
The heart-pounding Malignant comes to streaming service HBO Max on Friday, September 10, providing thrills and bloody chills in the run up to Halloween. As with previous Warner Brother 2021 releases, it’s made available online day-and-date with its theatrical release, where you can watch it as much as you want for a 31 day period.
There are currently two HBO Max subscription plans available: one ‘With Ads’ at $9.99 a month, and the other ‘Ad Free’ at the familiar $14.99 monthly rate. If you want to watch Malignant online, however, you’ll need to shell out for the latter option, because early access to WB blockbusters isn’t a feature of the cheaper plan – and neither is crisp 4K UHD picture quality, for that matter.
But if the $14.99 fee seems steep, you could save 16% by committing to its annual plan for $149.99 for the 12-months.
You stream content on a wide range of devices compatible with the HBO Max app. These include: iPhone and Android devices, Apple, Samsung, and Amazon Fire TVs, Roku, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S consoles, Chromecast and Chromebooks, in addition to laptops and PCs running Chrome, Mac, or Windows operating systems.
How to watch Malignant across the rest of the world
Cinemas are open again around much of the globe, meaning that movies like Malignant are getting a worldwide theatrical release. If you feel like venturing out, the film debuts in the UK and Canada on Friday, September 10, simultaneous with the US premiere. However, it’s been pushed back to an October 21 release in Australia, due to Coronavirus-related lockdowns across the country.
Right now there’s no confirmation whether Malignant will be procured by any of the major VOD platforms in these territories. However, many of the 2021 Warner Brothers films released on HBO Max – like The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – have been made available internationally to rent as PVOD (premium video on demand) titles, on services like Amazon Prime Video, Apple iTunes, and Google Play Store. While we don’t know for certain yet, it’ll be worth checking these websites to see if that holds true for Malignant.
What else can I watch on HBO Max?
As well as instant access to new Warner Bros. blockbusters – Clint Eastwood’s neo-Western drama Cry Macho is up next on September 17 – you’ll get over 13,000 hours of prime content: choice picks from the Warner Bros. archive and subsidiary companies like New Line Cinema, Studio Ghibli’s animated masterpieces, DC Entertainment blockbusters like Wonder Woman: 1984.
Plus – the clue's in the name – you can watch every iconic HBO series ever made. Enjoy The Sopranos, Euphoria, Mare of Easttown and The Wire, plus all 10 seasons of iconic sitcom Friends, addictive HBO Max Originals like Gossip Girl, and so much more.
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