The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run – Picture: ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run will be dropping on Netflix in November 2020 with it currently scheduled to release on November 5th, 2020 in most international regions around the world.
Spongebob on Netflix is a complicated affair as we covered just recently in our guide to streaming Spongebob on Netflix. This movie release adds to the complication mostly thanks to the global pandemic which impacted its theatrical release around the world.
The new Spongebob movie is written by Tim Hill (who formerly worked on the main Nick series itself) and follows Patrick and SpongeBob on a rescue mission to help save Gary.
There’s plenty of additional Spongebob projects in development for the future including at least two full-fledged Netflix Original titles coming from the Netflix/Nickelodeon output deal.
Why is Netflix showing Sponge on the Run?
In July 2020, Variety first reported that Netflix had picked up the SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run international rights which would include all regions outside the United States, Canada (at least initially), and China (which Netflix doesn’t operate in anyhow).
In the report, it mentions how Netflix is not obligated to stick to the 2021 domestic debut Paramount still hopes for the movie and that’s certainly the case with the Netflix international release date of November 5th, 2020.
PRÊTS LES ENFANTS ? ᵒᵘᶦ ᶜᵃᵖᶦᵗᵃᶦⁿᵉ ᵎ J'AI PAS ENTENDU ? ᵒᵘᶦ ᶜᵃᵖᶦᵗᵃᶦⁿᵉ ᵎ OOOOOOOOOOOOH !
Le nouveau film Bob l'Éponge : Éponge en eaux troubles, seulement sur Netflix, le 5 novembre. pic.twitter.com/kV5gg80DeS
— Netflix France (@NetflixFR) October 19, 2020
It’s noted that Netflix Canada will eventually get the movie but that likely won’t be until pay-1 which means sometime in 2021.
According to our source, the movie will be available on Netflix Internationally for 10 years although that could be a placeholder expiration date.
Will Sponge on the Run be on Netflix in the United States?
No, it won’t and has been ruled out entirely. Instead, it’s been announced that the movie will exclusively reside on ViacomCBS’s CBS All Access platform and really represent the first major movie exclusive for the streaming service which along with Showtime has only managed to net 16 million subscribers in total.
