Honey Don’t!, the Ethan Coen-directed lesbian detective film starring Margaret Qualley and Aubrey Plaza, will be available to buy and rent digitally beginning Sept. 9 at 12 a.m. Eastern Time (Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. Pacific). The Focus Features/Universal release arrives on digital platforms after a theatrical run that generated mixed reviews and about $5.8 million at the worldwide box office.
Qualley plays private detective Honey O’Donahue, who is drawn into an investigation involving a religious cult, and Plaza co-stars as MG Falcone, a police officer who develops a mutual attraction with Honey. Chris Evans appears as the cult leader Reverend Drew Devlin. The cast also includes Charlie Day, Kristen Connolly, Gabby Beans and Talia Ryder. The film is the second installment in what Coen and co-writer Tricia Cooke have described as a “lesbian B-movie trilogy,” following Drive-Away Dolls; Coen told The Hollywood Reporter there are “no definite plans to do a third movie.”
Honey Don’t! will be offered on major transactional platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home. Prices vary by retailer; on Amazon the film is listed at $24.99 to buy and $19.99 to rent. Rentals typically allow 48 hours to view the film after the customer begins playback.
The film is not yet available on subscription streaming services. Because it is a Focus Features/Universal title, industry watchers expect it eventually to appear on Peacock, the streaming service owned by Universal. Universal has placed many of its recent theatrical releases on Peacock, but the timing has varied by film. For example, The Phoenician Scheme began streaming on Peacock on July 25, roughly two weeks after its digital release and shortly after its theatrical window. Peacock has not announced a date for Honey Don’t!, however, and Universal has not released an official streaming schedule for the title.
Peacock currently offers two primary consumer tiers. The Peacock Premium plan with advertising is listed at $10.99 per month; the Premium Plus ad-free tier is $16.99 per month. Annual subscriptions are available at a reduced effective monthly rate: $109.99 per year for the ad-supported plan and $169.99 per year for the ad-free plan. Peacock’s Premium Plus tier can also be subscribed to through Prime Video Channels with a seven-day free trial option that is not available when subscribing directly through Peacock.
Industry observers say the eventual Peacock arrival for Honey Don’t! would follow Universal’s general practice of migrating its theatrical library to its owned streamer, but Universal’s release windows have lacked strict consistency. If Honey Don’t! follows the pattern of some recent Focus Features releases that moved to Peacock within a few weeks of their digital debut, viewers could see the film on Peacock in the coming month, though that timing remains unconfirmed.
For viewers who want to watch immediately, digital purchase or rental is the only guaranteed option at release. Critical reception to Honey Don’t! has been mixed, and the film’s modest box office suggests the title may reach a broader audience once it becomes available on a subscription service. Until Peacock or Universal announces a streaming date, the digital rental and purchase windows are the clearest path to viewing the film.