Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-Winning Fantasy Film The Shape of Water Comes to HBO Max

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Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed dark fantasy series is moving to HBO Max in early February. Get ready to stream this beautiful and complex show on the Warner Bros. Discovery platform!

Guillermo del Toro’s 2017 film will be available on HBO Max starting February 1st. It’s joining a growing list of popular and highly-rated movies already on the service, like Life of Pi, The Spectacular Now, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

As a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, I was thrilled to see The Shape of Water finally land on HBO Max! For a while, it was only available to buy on places like Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube. This move makes a lot of sense considering del Toro’s deal with Netflix – we’ve already gotten some amazing stuff out of it, like his beautiful Pinocchio, the creepy Cabinet of Curiosities, and other cool projects.

The film The Shape of Water tells the story of a mute woman who develops a unique connection with a creature held in a secret government lab, and it was a hit with both audiences and critics.

The film was a major box office success, earning $195.2 million on a budget of around $19.3 to $19.5 million – more than ten times its production cost. Critics and audiences alike praised its emotional impact and Guillermo del Toro’s distinctive visual style. It currently has a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter and a strong 92% rating from professional critics on the site’s Tomatometer.

The film received significant praise throughout the 2018 awards season. In addition to winning two Golden Globes and three BAFTAs, The Shape of Water ultimately earned four Oscars, including Best Director for Guillermo del Toro and the prestigious award for Best Picture.

The Shape of Water Is All About Communication

The silent connection between the characters in The Shape of Water wasn’t a coincidence. Around the time the film came out, director Guillermo del Toro shared that the movie is fundamentally about empathy – about understanding and connecting with those who are different from us.

The filmmaker explained to NPR that he finds it interesting how all of his characters who can speak struggle to connect with each other. Ironically, the characters who can’t speak – those who are silent or unable to use words – actually communicate with each other very well.

The film’s message of understanding deeply resonated with del Toro when it came out, and he almost titled it A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times. He believes the movie is especially relevant today, offering a hopeful contrast to the negativity and isolation many people feel.

You can now buy The Shape of Water on streaming and on-demand services. It’s coming to HBO Max on February 1st.

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2026-01-30 04:12