Why you'll soon be able to stream 'Nightmare Alley' on both HBO Max and Hulu

• "Nightmare Alley" will be available on both HBO Max and Hulu on February 1.
• WarnerMedia and Disney recently struck an agreement to share streaming rights on former Fox movies.

Director Guillermo del Toro's "Nightmare Alley" will be available to stream on both Disney's Hulu and WarnerMedia's HBO Max on February 1 after flopping in theaters.

The movie, which stars Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, grossed just $9 million at the box office when it was released in December. But it will get a second chance at life on two different streaming services next month thanks to a deal between Disney and WarnerMedia.

"Nightmare Alley" was inherited by Disney through its acquisition of the Fox movie studio. A preexisting deal between Fox (now 20th Century Studios) and WarnerMedia stipulated that Disney had to give the movies an exclusive theatrical window. It prevented Disney from streaming 20th Century movies simultaneously while they were in theaters last year, like Disney did for other titles such as "Black Widow."

The deal, which ends this year, also gives WarnerMedia pay-one window rights to Fox movies, so they would stream on HBO Max after their theatrical and video-on-demand windows.

But Disney and WarnerMedia recently amended the deal so that the two companies would share streaming rights on select 20th Century titles before WarnerMedia's exclusive pay-one window kicks in. The pay-one window typically begins six months after a movie debuts in theaters, but has been accelerated under the new agreement.

In other words, while "Nightmare Alley" will soon be streaming on Hulu and Max, it will eventually become a Max exclusive.

The same can be said for "Free Guy" and "The King's Man," two Fox films released by Disney last year. The former will be available on Disney+ and Max on February 23, and the latter will be available on Hulu and Max on February 18.

Disney has yet to announce whether 20th Century's "West Side Story," which flopped at the box office, is included in the amended agreement. Steven Spielberg's remake of the classic musical earned $58 million worldwide and cost $100 million to produce.