How To Stream Babylon

If you’re looking for a fever dream of a movie, then Babylon is for you. Directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), and starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Jean Smart, and Tobey Maguire, the over-the-top movie looks at the rise of cinema in 1920s Los Angeles. As NPR described it, “This was the moment when Hollywood debauchery prompted talk of a production code. And Chazelle serves up nudity, profanity, murder, rattlesnake rustling, mountains of cocaine and a probing look at the effect of film industry racism towards even Black stars like the trumpeter played by Jovan Adepo.” Clocking in at over three hours, Babylon is a big movie about movies.

Babylon has also been a major player this awards season: It’s been nominated for awards at just about every major awards show, including the Oscars, where it’s been nomination for Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Original Score, and Best Achievement in Costume Design. Want to see what all the fuss is about, but not eager to trek to the theater for a screening? Below, how to stream Babylon at home.

Is Babylon Available To Stream?

Babylon was released in theaters on Dec. 23, 2022, and for awhile, it was only available in theaters — but luckily, it’s recently hit streaming.

Paramount+ subscribers can now catch Babylon on the streaming service. Additionally, the film is available to rent or buy on VoD services like Amazon Prime Video, Apple, and Vudu — so if you’re not a Paramount+ subscriber, you can still catch the film at home.

What Are Critics Saying About Babylon?

Babylon has a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is not a bad showing, but far from universal praise. Some critics hailed Chazelle’s latest outing — like Kyle Smith at the Wall Street Journal, who called Babylon, “One of the year’s richest and most ambitious films.” Others liked the film well enough but had their reservations, like David Sims at the Atlantic, who wrote, “Chazelle is trying to make a point with all the excess... I’m not sure if I agree or if I was simply beaten into submission after more than three hours, but Babylon is the kind of grandiose folly that at least gives the viewer a big old mess to chew on.” And some, Bob Mondello at NPR, had their critiques, but still found something to enjoy: “Babylon feels over the top and enormous at three-plus hours, reportedly down from a four-hour first cut. It is a crazily overstuffed love letter to the glories of cinema, as characters keep telling us. It is too much and often, especially in call-outs to "Singin' In The Rain," a little on the nose. It is also clearly heartfelt and that counts.”

Still more, like K. Austin Collins at Rolling Stone, didn’t like it at all. “Its panache begins to feel more like the idea of panache — like a bodysnatcher lurking under a skin of actual cinematic style, all empty gestures and wiry nothingness,” he wrote. “The disappointment is that the movie wields so much and achieves so relatively little.”