New films like ‘Nightbitch,’ ‘Conclave,’ and ‘Juror #2’ are now available for adults to stream in late 2024.

Yes, there is a movie titled Nightbitch making waves on Disney+, and it’s not a remake of Lady and the Tramp. You can find Nightbitch on Disney+ if you have bundled it with Hulu, where new movies from Fox and Fox Searchlight are often released. Starring Amy Adams, Nightbitch had a limited theatrical release in early December, but its box office earnings were not reported by Disney. The movie’s release strategy is similar to how Netflix launches its prestige titles to qualify for awards.

While Netflix usually releases movies in theaters reluctantly, Disney has been more invested in theatrical releases. Despite this, Disney frequently opts to release Fox and Searchlight titles directly on Hulu. The decision to release Nightbitch in this manner was likely influenced by the potential for awards recognition due to the collaboration between writer-director Marielle Heller and the talented actress, Amy Adams. Although Adams received a Golden Globe nomination for her role, the movie’s festival reviews were mixed, leading to a shift towards streaming distribution.

Disney is not alone in its approach to releasing movies that would have traditionally been considered theatrical releases for adults. Warner Bros. also chose to give a limited theatrical release to Clint Eastwood’s film Juror #2, with a subsequent streaming premiere on Max. Despite the lack of transparency, Juror #2 appeared to have a more successful theatrical run compared to Nightbitch, as it continued to be shown in theaters for several weeks. The film received positive reviews for its classic storytelling style and a touch of noir suspense, showcasing Eastwood’s filmmaking expertise beyond just being directed by him.

The thing is, it makes sense why Disney and Warner would look at these movies and think they’d have a better shot at streaming success than theatrical. Looking at the list of the biggest-grossing 2024 movies so far, what’s the closest thing to movies that depend more on story, some kind of star power, and adult characters than on spectacle, franchises, or the appearance of all-ages fun? Probably It Ends with Us, a big summer hit (and current Netflix chart champ) that’s also based on a bestselling novel. Nightbitch is from a novel, too, and Juror #2 feels like it could be based on one of the better John Grisham books, but it’s not quite the same as boasting Colleen Hoover’s fanbase. Moving further down the list, there are some more apt comparisons: Challengers, A Complete Unknown, and Conclave, which is technically still in some theaters but is also more widely available on Peacock.

Conclave had a respectable theatrical run, but it feels like a movie that, in past years, would have made twice as much money. Meanwhile, A Complete Unknown is doing what its Disney/Searchlight stablemate Nightbitch was presumed unfit for: Actually competing with a bunch of family-oriented movies at the holiday box office. This year, things were especially PG, with Mufasa, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Moana 2, and Wicked all family-friendly movies; no wonder the dark, bloody, horny Nosferatu remake is cleaning up with the adults. Compare this to the season a decade ago, with one all-ages mega-blockbuster in the form of a new Star Wars movie, but also a grisly and star-driven survival adventure for adults (The Revenant), a comedy-drama about financial shenanigans (The Big Short), comedies both R-rated (Sisters) and PG-13 (Daddy’s Home), a nasty Quentin Tarantino western (The Hateful Eight), and even a damn movie about a mop (Joy). All of these did bigger business than Conclave, and A Complete Unknown is likely to surpass just a few of them at best.

This creates sort of a chicken-and-egg scenario: Are Conclave, Juror #2, and Nightbitch mostly-streaming movies because studios won’t give them stronger theatrical releases, or are they not given stronger releases because a slate as diverse as 2015 will no longer sell tickets? There’s another bizarre paradox at work, too: In the past, dumping a movie into a few dozen theaters would consign it to obscurity for at least half a year. No one would see it in theaters, and its next shot would come in a video release three to six months down the line. Now Nightbitch attracts a substantial number of eyeballs mere weeks after tanking theatrically.

That also probably helps the movie itself: Divorced from initial awards buzz or the expectations of a big fall release, it’s presumably easier to appreciate the movie’s sharply rendered observations about motherhood and the fearless Amy Adams performance at its center, rather than feeling let down by the fact that its body-horror side is underdeveloped or the way it grants its characters a certain measure of easy solution to complicated, realistic problems. Juror #2, too, probably benefits from a lack of genuine awards buzz, even if some critics have put it on their best-of-the-year lists. What Eastwood brings to it as a director is best appreciated as an extra dimension on a suspenseful courtroom thriller, rather than a heavily hyped rumination on the justice system.

Similarly, this may be why Conclave has some extra awards-season juice: Its papal-choice saga may not have much depth, but the big-screen experience (however limited compared to its decade-ago prospects) affords it a certain perceived respectability. Without more movies aiming for that kind of reputation boost, future December-January movie lineups may have adults further discouraged from turning to the multiplex, and replacing it with their streaming channels. For this year, at least, there’s been something of a flip: Families who might have gathered together to rewatch a holiday classic could be enticed out to the movies with any number of options, while movies like these three replicate the grown-ups-at-the-multiplex experience at home.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.