Demi Moore in “The Substance.”
MUBI
The Substance, Demi Moore’s Oscar-nominated hit body horror thriller from 2024, is coming soon to HBO Max.
Rated R, The Substance was released in theaters on Sept. 20, 2024, before it debuted on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Oct. 31. The film also debuted the same day on streaming video on demand on the indie platform MUBI, which also produced the movie.
The official logline for The Substance reads, “A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.”
Moore stars in The Substance as Elisabeth Sparkle, a once celebrated A-list star-turned-TV aerobics guru who is fired from her job by her chauvinistic boss, Harvey (Dennis Quaid), on her 50th birthday. Once Elisabeth takes the drug, simply known as “The Substance,” she transforms into the “younger, better version of herself,” who goes by Sue (Margaret Qualley).
Rated R, The Substance is written, directed and produced by Coralie Fargeat.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced in a press release this week that The Substance will begin streaming on HBO Max on Friday, Oct. 10.
For viewers who don’t subscribe to HBO Max, the platform has three tiers. The platform’s ad-based subscription costs $9.99 per month, while the ad-free subscription costs $16.99 per month. The platform also offers an ad-free tier with 4K Ultra HD programming that costs $20.99 per month.
Demi Moore And ‘The Substance’ Had A Big Presence Last Awards Season
The Substance was showered with accolades throughout the 2024-25 awards season, including five Oscar nominations.
Coralie Fargeat earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture as one of the film’s producers, and Demi Moore was nominated for Best Actress. The film won in one category, for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Additionally, Moore was nominated for Best Actress by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and was awarded the honor by the Screen Actors Guild, the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globes (in the Motion Picture Musical or Comedy category).
During the film’s theatrical run, The Substance earned nearly $17.6 million domestically and $59.7 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $77.3 million against a production budget of $17.5 million before prints and advertising, according to The Numbers.
The Substance also received an 89% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 371 reviews and a 76% “fresh” score on RT’s Popcornmeter based on 1,000-plus verified user ratings.
The Substance, starring Demi Moore, debuts on HBO Max on Oct. 10.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/09/25/demi-moore-body-horror-hit-the-substance-gets-hbo-max-streaming-date/
