Anyone else hear that buzz in the air? No, it’s not the bees, believe it or not. It’s the sound of action star Jason Statham singlehandedly willing “The Beekeeper” to become the year’s first real box office hit as the film gets ready for its home release. Despite the annual January doldrums and the fact that director David Ayer’s newest project didn’t exactly have much new to offer beyond its obvious “John Wick” parallels, audiences turned out anyway to see the novelty of Statham smoking some beehives and taking vengeance on some scummy phone-scammers — one of whom had the rotten luck of messing with the wrong elderly lady. That may not sound like the flashiest or even the most original setup for a secret agent going rogue and cutting a path of destruction through his unfortunate victims, but as /Film’s Ben Pearson put it in his review: “Still, there are plenty of enjoyable moments here, and audiences who want nothing more than a Jason Statham beat-’em-up will surely be satisfied.”
Just how satisfied, however, is a question that should be answered in the days and weeks to come, now that “The Beekeeper” is ready to take the leap from theaters to home. Unfortunately, there’s no information on a physical release on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K just yet, though you can be sure that’s coming down the pipeline sooner or later. The same goes for when viewers will be able to purchase digital copies of the action/thriller as well. However, as of January 30, 2024, “The Beekeeper” is now available both in theaters and to rent digitally through your preferred PVOD platform. Read on for all the details.
The Beekeeper buzzes onto PVOD
Jason Statham is the Beekeeper — okay, maybe not literally, but he did do plenty of actual stuff that beekeepers do in real life during filming, and that’s got to count for something! While many of us are still trying to wrap our minds around the idea of a former killer who was part of a clandestine outfit called The Beekeepers eventually retiring from that life to become an actual beekeeper (because writers who use subtext are cowards, etc.), “The Beekeeper” is already set to receive a second wind as it makes its way from theaters onto digital platforms. Fans eager for more Statham-sized violence can head on over to Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, or Vudu in order to rent the film from the comfort of their own home.
There’s not yet word about any set date for a streaming release, mind you, but rest assured that it’ll be coming. As an Amazon MGM Studios release, “The Beekeeper” will undoubtedly make its debut on Prime Video for subscribers (who, unfortunately, will have to cough up a bit more in order to watch it without ads). Ideally, we’ll soon receive news about the eventual physical media release and, hopefully, a shiny new SteelBook collection complete with all sorts of bonus features. For a movie that went to such lengths to recreate beekeeper practices, we’d hope that there’s much more to be said about having actual bees on set. Also, you know, I guess more information about all the choreography and training that went into the action set pieces would be cool, too.
