Viewers can get a taste of just how close the Cold War came to heating up and boiling over by going to watch the new historical drama, The Brink of War, in movie theaters this weekend.
Written and directed by Michael Russell Gunn, The Brink of War stars Emmy-winner Jeff Daniels as the former U.S. president and Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan, and recounts the true story of Reagan’s visit to Iceland for the Reykjavík Summit of 1986. There, Reagan met with Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (played in the film by award-winning actor Jared Harris), and the two men spent a long, tense weekend deciding whether or not there would be peace between the two nations, or war.
The Brink of War also stars J. K. Simmons as then-Secretary of State George Shultz; Hope Davis as First Lady Nancy Reagan; and Branka Katić as Raisa Gorbacheva, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Writer/director Michael Russell Gunn spent years researching for the film, including conducting an interview with the real former Secretary of State George Shultz before his 2021 death. History nerds don’t want to miss it, so read on to find out where to watch The Brink of War movie, including when and where we expect to be able to watch The Brink of War movie on streaming.
Courtesy Everett Collection
Where to watch the Ronald Reagan movie The Brink of War:
For now, The Brink of War movie will only be available to watch in a movie theater, when it opens in select theaters in the U.S. on Friday, August 14. You can find a showing near you via Fandango. The Brink of War is not yet available to watch online or on streaming.
Is the The Brink of War movie streaming on Netflix or Prime Video?
The Brink of War is not streaming on Netflix or Prime Video right now. While it’s possible The Brink of War may stream on Netflix someday, it won’t be until after the theatrical run and digital release of the movie. Young Washington is not a Netflix original—it’s a small, independent film being distributed by Angel Studios, known for making faith-based films and films with conservative values. So far, since the studio’s launch in 2021, none of Angel Studios movies have gone on to stream on Netflix. Never say never, but it’s unlikely you’ll see The Brink of War streaming on Netflix anytime soon.
You will be able to purchase The Brink of War on Prime Video eventually, when the movie becomes available to buy and rent on digital, but you will not be able to stream The Brink of War on Prime Video free with a Prime subscription any time soon, because it is not a Prime original movie. If you want to watch The Brink of War movie at home, you’ll have to wait for the film to be available to buy or rent on digital platforms.
When will the The Brink of War movie release on digital?
The Brink of War movie digital release date has not yet been announced. However, we can make an educated guess as to when we might see The Brink of War on video-on-demand, based on the digital release of previous films from this studio, Angel Studios.
Another Angel Studios movie, Young Washington, was released was released on digital platforms a little over a month after opening in theaters. If The Brink of War follows a similar pattern, you might see the movie on video-on-demand in about one month and some change, around mid-to-late September 2026. Around the same time or earlier, you will also likely see The Brink of War streaming on the Angel Studios website, available to Angel Guild members, with subscriptions starting at $12 a month, or $119 a year.
But this is all speculation. Other Angel Studio movies took over three months to come to digital, and others are still only available to stream on the Angel Studios website with a guild membership. So if you want to see The Brink of War right away, you should catch the movie in a theater.
