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Summary
- Disney+ now streams Joker and The Batman, thanks to a more flexible approach by Warner Bros.
- The success of these DC movies on Disney+ shows a shift towards more open licensing deals in the streaming landscape.
- While Marvel and DC crossovers are not confirmed, Warner Bros.’ move to share DC content on Disney+ signals a trend of collaboration.
Two of DC’s best films within the last few years, Joker and The Batman, are streaming on Disney+, joining the service’s massive catalog of superhero films. Disney has dominated the superhero cinematic landscape since the MCU started in 2008. The MCU has grossed billions of dollars and continues to release content today, even if it has hit a bit of a rough patch. Disney’s superhero catalog expanded in 2019 when Disney bought Fox, giving the company access to the X-Men and Fantastic Four films. Disney+ also hosts many of the Spider-Man movies, including Sony’s villain films, like Venom.
DC, on the other hand, is owned by Warner Bros., the company behind the streaming service Max. However, Warner Bros. has become more flexible about lending out its films, including its DC content, to other streaming platforms. Now, two of the studio’s best films from the last five years are available to be watched on Disney+ (along with several other DC projects).
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The Batman & Joker Are Now Streaming On Disney+ (If You Have Hulu)
When Disney acquired Fox, it also gained Fox’s stakes in Hulu, giving Disney a 60% majority stake in the streaming service. Recently, Disney made a Hulu subscription even more convenient by adding a Hulu tab to its service, giving bundle subscribers access to all of Hulu’s content on Disney+. Hulu recently added The Batman and Joker to its catalog, meaning these movies are also available on Disney+ for subscribers with Hulu. While these films are not from the DCEU, they are two of the best and most successful recent DC films.
The Batman garnered an 85% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed over $772 million worldwide. DC is investing heavily into Matt Reeves’ Batman universe, as there is a sequel on the way along with a spinoff, The Penguin. Joker got a 69% critic score, but it grossed over $1 billion worldwide on a small budget for a comic book film. It was nominated for Best Picture, and won two Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. The sequel, Joker: Folie à deux, is set to hit theaters on Oct. 4, 2024.
Why DC Movies Are On Their Rival’s Streaming Platform
For a while, a Disney+/Hulu bundle existed, giving subscribers access to both services at a discounted price. Since Warner Bros. recently started licensing out its DC films to Hulu, these movies also appeared on Disney+. Besides The Batman and Joker, other movies like Wonder Woman, Shazam!, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods were available to stream on Disney+. The licensing deals go both ways, as Max has a small selection of Marvel films to stream.
Streaming on Max right now are Deadpool and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It’s doubtful that Disney would ever license out any of its MCU films as those are strictly linked to Disney, but the company has been more flexible with its Fox properties. Since Sony doesn’t have a streaming service, the Spider-Man films often hop around the services, including Netflix. DC films appearing on Disney+ doesn’t mean a Marvel/DC crossover is happening anytime soon, but it does show that Warner Bros. is becoming less restrictive with its DC content.

The Batman
- Release Date
- March 4, 2022
- Runtime
- 176 minutes

Joker (2019)
- Director
- Todd Phillips
- Release Date
- October 2, 2019
- Runtime
- 122 minutes
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