You can watch Ava DuVernay’s new documentary 14th two ways: in a limited US theatrical run beginning November 27, 2026, then streaming globally on Netflix starting December 4, 2026. Streaming requires a Netflix subscription, which starts at $8.99 a month.
If you want to see it the moment it is available, that means a theater ticket during the last week of November; if you would rather stream it at home, the Netflix date is the one to circle. Here is the full breakdown.
Where and when to watch 14th
14th follows the same release pattern Netflix uses for its awards-season documentaries: a short theatrical window first, then a global streaming drop. The limited run opens in select theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 27th. One week later, on December 4th, the film arrives on Netflix everywhere at once, including across the US.
Streaming start time and price
Netflix typically makes new titles available at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET, so expect 14th to go live in the early hours of December 4. Watching at home means an active Netflix plan:
- Standard with ads — $8.99/month: 1080p on up to two devices, with commercials.
- Standard — $19.99/month: ad-free, 1080p, two screens, one paid extra member.
- Premium — $26.99/month: 4K Ultra HD with HDR, four screens, up to two extra members.
Those reflect Netflix’s US rates after the March 2026 increase. Theater ticket prices during the November run will vary by city and chain.
What 14th is about
14th is the direct follow-up to 13th, DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated 2016 documentary about the amendment that abolished slavery and the mass-incarceration system that grew in its shadow. A decade later, she turns to the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, and the question it still forces: who counts as a citizen, and who gets to belong in America. With birthright citizenship back at the center of national argument, the subject is anything but historical.
DuVernay conducted more than 50 interviews for the film. The on-camera voices span the political spectrum and the academy: Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna, Senator Alex Padilla, former Senator Jeff Flake, Stacey Abrams, civil-rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill, and Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Eric Foner and David Blight. The result is less a lecture than a survey of how the amendment is understood — and contested — right now.
The timing is deliberate. The Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause — the guarantee that nearly everyone born on US soil is a citizen — is at the center of an active legal and political fight, and the film lands while that argument is still unresolved. By putting a sitting progressive representative and a sitting conservative one in the same documentary, DuVernay signals that she is after the terms of the debate, not a single verdict on it.
How the theatrical run works
The November 27 opening is a limited release, which in practice means a short run in a handful of major-market theaters rather than a wide national rollout. For most viewers across the country, the realistic first chance to watch will be the December 4 Netflix drop. The theatrical window is standard for a documentary positioning itself for awards consideration, where a qualifying run in theaters comes before the streaming audience.
For a sense of DuVernay’s approach to this material, her conversation with Oprah Winfrey about 13th remains the clearest primer:
It has already screened at festivals
14th is not arriving cold. It had its world premiere as the Closing Night selection of the 64th New York Film Festival on October 9, 2026, and went on to play the London Film Festival as a special documentary presentation. The festival run means early reactions are already circulating well ahead of the November theatrical opening.
That rollout echoes the one that made 13th a landmark. The earlier film opened the New York Film Festival in 2016, earned an Academy Award nomination for best documentary feature, and won a Primetime Emmy. A festival-first launch is how DuVernay built word of mouth the first time, and Netflix is clearly running the same playbook again — which is part of why the December streaming date matters more than the limited theatrical one for most viewers.
Frequently asked questions
When does 14th come out on Netflix?
December 4, 2026, worldwide. A limited US and UK theatrical run starts a week earlier, on November 27, 2026.
Do I have to see it in theaters first?
No. The theatrical run is limited and optional. If you would rather stream it, it will be on Netflix on December 4 at no extra cost beyond your subscription.
Is 14th a sequel to 13th?
Yes. DuVernay frames it as the direct follow-up to 13th (2016), moving from the Thirteenth Amendment to the Fourteenth and the modern fight over citizenship.
Is 13th still on Netflix?
Yes. 13th remains available to stream on Netflix in the US, which makes it easy to watch before 14th arrives.
What does 14th cost to stream?
Only the price of a Netflix plan — $8.99/month for Standard with ads, $19.99 for Standard, or $26.99 for Premium. There is no separate rental or purchase fee.
