Picture: DreamWorks Animation
Gabby’s Dollhouse has been a Netflix staple since its debut in January 2021. Fast forward four years, and the series is still going strong. Additionally, Universal Pictures has just released a new movie in theaters, which should be available on Netflix in the United States, but not for a while.
Gabby’s Dollhouse is by far and away the most successful show to come out of Netflix’s output deal with DreamWorks TV, which has been in operation for well over a decade. We’ve previously referred to it as a “powerhouse” and written numerous pieces about how well the show is performing on Netflix. The numbers speak for themselves. Between the beginning of 2023 and the middle of 2025, the show has now garnered a whopping 1.38 billion hours watched, equating to 471.1 million views.
A feature film was inevitable, given the popularity, and on September 26th, Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie was released in theaters across the United States, distributed by Universal Pictures. The original cast is here, with Laila Lockhart Kraner reprising her role from the series, alongside Hollywood stars Jason Mantzoukas, Gloria Estefan, and Kristen Wiig.
Directed by Ryan Crego, the movie features Gabby road-tripping with Grandma Gigi to the urban wonderland of Cat Francisco, but things don’t go quite to plan when her dollhouse ends up in the hands of a cat lady named Vera. It has garnered solid reviews across the board thus far.
When will Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie be available on Netflix US?
We should caveat this by assuming that the movie will be available on Netflix under the streamer’s animation deal with Universal Pictures. We’ve reached out to multiple parties who have all implied that it is part of Universal’s animation slate rather than live-action (which would mean it goes to Prime Video and not Netflix), and given that Netflix is actively promoting the movie through its shop, that certainly suggests it will be part of that output.
Now, assuming it is part of that animation output deal that applies to all Illumination and DreamWorks titles, the movie will be splitting its first window (ie, the first time it becomes available to streamers) between Peacock and Netflix.
As a rough guide, then, here’s when the movie is expected to hit streaming:
- Peacock first run – ~ Late January 2026
- Netflix window – ~Late May 2026
- Peacock second run – ~Late March 2027
Release Schedule For Illumination & DreamWorks Movies on Netflix
What about other Netflix regions? They differ quite dramatically, but many receive Universal animation movies between 2 and 5 years after their initial theatrical release.
Of course, there’s lots more Gabby’s Dollhouse coming to Netflix in the near future. Season 12 of the show is due out on November 17th, 2025, with the show renewed through to “100 episodes” which means the show should run for at least another few seasons.
Are you hoping Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will arrive on Netflix? Let us know in the comments.
