Homelander and Firecracker in The Boys
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Wth, is The Boys season 5 finale hitting cinemas early? Release date confusion explained

The ticket prices are causing even more drama than the spoilers

Daisy Phillipson
7th May 2026, 19:21
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If you’re a fan of The Boys, then the next couple of weeks are monumental: We’ll be getting the final two episodes of the TV show ever. 

Although there are spinoffs in the pipeline, The Boys season five is the last chapter of the flagship series. 

We’ve already seen the first six episodes, meaning there’s just the seventh and eighth to go, which will see the battle between Butcher and Homelander finally reach its (no doubt) bloody conclusion. 

The show itself has always been exclusive to streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video, but in recent years, there has been a rising trend of treating major TV finales like full-blown cinematic events. 

Case in point: Stranger Things season five, which aired its grand finale in cinemas. The Boys is following suit, with its official social media pages announcing this week that season five episode eight will be screening in 4DX cinemas. 

But unlike Stranger Things, it won’t be dropping at the same time as its streaming release, causing a bit of confusion among fans. 

The Boys season 5 finale is dropping a day early in cinemas

Here’s the deal: The Boys’ last ever episode will be playing in select 4DX theatres across the US and Canada only, on Tuesday 19th May 2026 at 9.30pm local time. 

That’s a few hours earlier than it’s dropping on Prime Video (more on this shortly). 

As per the announcement on Tuesday 5th May, only concession vouchers are available for the time being, which you can use to get sweets and drinks, while also securing your seat.

The cinemas airing the finale include Regal, AMC, B&B, Marcus, Cineplex, Cinema West, Cinepolis, and Regency. 

If you’re just seeing this now and are gagging to watch it on the big screen, get in there quick. Although most screentimes are at Regal, these are selling out fast, so be sure to check other nearby showtimes and the smaller chains. 

And if you can’t make this date for whatever reason (including not living in the US or Canada), well, you’ll have to wait. 

So, when exactly does season 5 episode 8 drop on Prime Video?

Sister Sage, Deep, and Homelander in The Boys
Credit: Prime Video

The Boys season five episode eight, titled ‘Blood and Bone’, is heading to Prime Video on Wednesday 20th May at 12am PT – or 8am UK time. 

Check out some other time zones below so you know exactly when to tune in: 

  • 2am CT (Central Time)
  • 3am ET (Eastern Time)
  • 9am CET (Central European Time)
  • 12:30pm IST (India Standard Time)
  • 4pm JST (Japan Standard Time)
  • 5pm AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
  • 7pm NZST (New Zealand Standard Time)

Won’t the release time delay lead to spoilers?

Kimiko and Mother's Milk in The Boys
Credit: Prime Video

Well, there are a few things that may make spoilers slightly less of an issue, the first being that it’s not a traditional early-access streaming release where thousands of people can instantly start clipping scenes and posting screenshots online from home. 

The finale is specifically screening in 4DX cinemas, meaning viewers will be in a much more controlled environment where filming the screen is harder – and a lot more obvious.

Given the moving seats, flashing lights, water effects, and the fact you’re surrounded by other fans, it’s probably not the easiest setting to secretly record huge chunks of the episode without someone noticing (or staff stepping in).

Secondly, the delay itself isn’t actually massive. The Prime Video release is only landing a few hours after the cinema screenings begin. 

So while spoilers may hit social media that night, it’s not like viewers at home will be waiting days to watch the finale.

And if you’re really worried about it, you can always install an extension like Spoiler Protection until you get a chance to watch it. 

Funnily enough, the spoilers aren’t even the biggest talking point among fans – it’s the price. “They want $60 for two tickets for an hour episode at my local theater. No thanks,” wrote one on Reddit.

Another agreed, “Yep. Even with Regal Unlimited, it wants to charge me $30 for a ‘concession voucher’ that can only used on the day of the show

“I’d love to see it in 4DX, but $30 for an hour? When I already pay to stream it??? Nah. I’m out.” 

And a third summed it up: “$30 at my local regal and no discount for unlimited members. I’ll be watching at home shaking my own damn chair lol.”

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Featured image credit: Prime Video