Casper Kelly’s twisted horror comedy Buddy is coming home after becoming one of the year’s biggest independent horror success stories. The movie will be available on Digital October 13, followed by Blu-ray and DVD on December 8, giving fans opportunities to bring the terrifying orange unicorn home for Halloween and beyond.
A VHS edition is also on the way. Pre-orders for the VHS release will begin through Witter Entertainment on November 24.
The home video release announcement comes after Buddy earned more than $26 million at the box office, an impressive result for an independent, R-rated horror movie that opened on fewer than 1,800 screens.
When is Buddy coming to Digital?
Buddy will be available to watch at home on October 13, 2026. The movie originally arrived in theaters on August 28 from Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. It went on to have the biggest opening of 2026 for a movie playing on fewer than 1,800 screens and continued building an audience throughout its theatrical run.
According to the film’s distributors, Buddy has now passed $26 million at the box office. That makes it the highest-grossing movie in Saban Films history and the third-highest-grossing film ever for Roadside Attractions, behind I Can Only Imagine and Manchester by the Sea.
Buddy has also become the highest-grossing Sundance 2026 acquisition to date, surpassing The Invite. Not too shabby for a movie about a psychopathic orange unicorn.
When are the Buddy Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS releases?
Fans who prefer physical media won’t have to wait much longer. Buddy arrives on Blu-ray and DVD December 8, 2026. There’s also going to be a VHS edition, because a movie built around the nostalgia of 1990s children’s television demands a release on an obsolete home video format. The Buddy VHS pre-sale begins through Witter Entertainment on November 24, with the tapes expected to ship in time for the holiday season.
What is Buddy about?
Buddy takes the brightly colored world of children’s television and turns it into a nightmare. The title character is a large, orange unicorn who hosts the fictional children’s program It’s Buddy!. Inside the show’s cheerful world, Buddy sings songs, dances, teaches children lessons, and encourages everyone to be happy. Unfortunately, Buddy is also a psychopath. When one child refuses to participate in one of his lessons, the supposedly perfect world begins to crack. Before long, the children trapped inside the television program realize that their friendly orange host is something much more sinister.
The movie is essentially Barney & Friends by way of a very dark horror movie, with Casper Kelly using the look and conventions of 1990s children’s television to create something increasingly disturbing.
Kelly is best known as the creator of the Adult Swim viral sensation Too Many Cooks, and Buddy allows him to once again take something familiar and push it into bizarre territory.
What did JoBlo’s Buddy review say?
Buddy premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it played in the Midnight section. JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray gave the movie a 6/10, praising its inventive first act and Casper Kelly’s twisted take on children’s television while finding that the movie loses some momentum when it moves away from Buddy’s television world.
In his review of Buddy, Bumbray described the first half hour as “mostly brilliant,” with the movie initially unfolding like a series of increasingly disturbing Buddy episodes. He also praised Keegan-Michael Key’s performance as Buddy, Delaney Quinn as young heroine Freddy, and the movie’s nineties nostalgia. However, Bumbray felt that the middle section, which moves into the real world, doesn’t have the same energy as the opening.
The movie eventually returns to Buddy’s world for its final act, but Bumbray concluded that Buddy feels somewhat like an excellent short film expanded into a feature. Even with those reservations, he found plenty to admire in Kelly’s demented satire of children’s television.
Buddy also got a sing-along version
The Digital release isn’t the only way Buddy is expanding its audience. Earlier this month, Buddy: The Sing-Along Version began playing in theaters with on-screen lyrics for the movie’s songs, including “It’s Buddy!,” “You’ve Got to Be Scared to Be Brave,” and “The Wrong Place in Town.”
The special theatrical engagement encourages audiences to dress up, sing along, and treat Buddy like a bizarre communal experience. That isn’t entirely surprising considering the response the movie has received from audiences. Roadside Attractions and Saban Films said fans were already singing and dancing in the aisles during regular screenings.
Who stars in Buddy?
Buddy was written and directed by Casper Kelly, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jamie King. The cast includes:
- Cristin Milioti
- Delaney Quinn
- Patton Oswalt
- Michael Shannon
- Topher Grace
- Keegan-Michael Key
Key provides the voice of Buddy, while Quinn plays Freddy, one of the children who begins to realize that something is very wrong inside the seemingly cheerful world of It’s Buddy!.
Now that the film is coming to Digital on October 13, even more people will get the chance to discover what happens when a friendly orange unicorn decides that one of his young viewers isn’t being sufficiently enthusiastic. And if Digital isn’t enough, there’s always VHS.
Are you planning to watch Buddy when it arrives on Digital? Will you be picking up the VHS? Let us know in the comments.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed