Gremlins Climbs HBO Max Again as Fans Learn the Wait for Movie No. 3 Just Got Longer
Gremlins is now No. 3 on HBO Max's movie chart, while Gremlins 3 has moved from November 2027 to October 6, 2028.
One of the strangest studio hits of the 1980s is having another moment. Gremlins, Joe Dante’s 1984 horror-comedy, has surged onto HBO Max’s movie chart just as the franchise’s next live-action chapter gets a later release date.
The immediate change is on streaming. Gremlins is currently ranked third on HBO Max’s top movies chart, according to FlixPatrol, putting the Christmas-set creature comedy back in front of a large audience more than four decades after its original release.
That renewed attention is landing on a film built around a simple setup that quickly goes off the rails. Billy Peltzer, played by Zach Galligan, gets an unusual Christmas gift from his father: a Mogwai he names Gizmo. The creature comes with three rules. Keep it away from bright light, never let it touch water, and never feed it after midnight. Once those rules are broken, Billy’s hometown of Kingston Falls is overtaken by destructive creatures, and the movie swings between slapstick and horror.
For viewers who press play after spotting it on the chart, there is more of the franchise waiting on the same service. Gremlins 2: The New Batch, released in 1990, also directed by Dante and featuring Galligan and Cates returning, moves the mayhem to a Manhattan skyscraper and pushes the chaos even further. HBO Max also carries Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, the 2023 animated prequel series set around Gizmo’s origins and Sam Wing’s early adventures in 1920s Shanghai. The series ran for two seasons.
The other update affects fans waiting for a new movie. Gremlins 3 is now set for theaters on October 6, 2028, after Warner Bros. moved it from its original November 2027 date. Chris Columbus, who wrote the first film, is attached to direct. A first teaser shows Gizmo peeking out of a backpack, but plot details and casting have not been announced.
So the current takeaway is a split-screen one for longtime fans: the original Gremlins is newly hot on HBO Max right now, and the next live-action installment is still coming, just later than first planned.
