'Despicable Me 4': Streaming Release Date and How to Watch From Anywhere

Halloween brings spooky, scary, creepy and crawly movies to mind, but what about a despicable flick?

Peacock picked a villain-friendly streaming date for Despicable Me 4, the latest film in the franchise that stars Gru and the Minions. In the sequel, Gru faces the revenge-seeking Maxime Le Mal and goes on the run with his family, which includes his three adoptive daughters, his wife and his baby son, Gru Jr.

The family film has the voices of Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Joey King, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman and more. If you need another source of entertainment for kids after the Oct. 31 festivities, here's how you can stream Despicable Me 4 on Peacock.

Universal Pictures

When to watch Despicable Me 4 on Peacock

Viewers in the US can start watching the family comedy as early as 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT on Thursday, Oct. 31. Peacock also carries the first two Despicable Me films.

Peacock raised prices over the summer and starts at $8 a month or $80 a year. That's for ad-supported Peacock Premium, but you can also opt for $14 a month or $140 a year Premium Plus to see less ads, download titles and stream your live local NBC station.

Want to watch the latest Despicable Me flick without Peacock? It's available to rent at Amazon or Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu) for $6.

James Martin/CNET

If you're after a discount, you can consider paying for a year of Peacock upfront, which costs less than paying monthly over the same span of time. If you're a college student, you may be eligible for 12 months of discounted Premium. 

How to watch Despicable Me 4 from anywhere with a VPN

Perhaps you're traveling abroad and want to stream Peacock while away from home. With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to access the movie from anywhere in the world. There are also other good reasons to use a VPN for streaming.

A VPN is the best way to encrypt your traffic to stop your internet service provider from throttling your speeds. Using a VPN is also a great idea if you're traveling and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and log-ins when connecting to Wi-Fi networks. Streaming TV can be a bit smoother with a reliable, quality VPN that's passed our tests and meets our security standards.

You can use a VPN to stream content legally as long as VPNs are allowed in your country and you have a valid subscription to the streaming service you're using. The US and Canada are among the countries where VPNs are legal, but we advise against streaming or downloading content on illegal torrent sites. We recommend ExpressVPN, but you may opt for another provider from our best list, such as Surfshark or NordVPN. 

James Martin/CNET

Latest Tests DNS leaks detected, 25% speed loss in 2024 testsNetwork 3,000 plus servers in 105 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands

If you're looking for a secure and dependable VPN, check out our Editors' Choice: ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on multiple devices, and provides stable streams. It's normally $13 a month, but it currently costs less overall to go for a 12-month subscription, where each month shakes out to $8.32.

ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read our review of ExpressVPN.

Follow the VPN provider's instructions for installation, and choose a country where Despicable Me 4 will be streaming on Peacock. Before you open the streaming app, make sure you're connected to your VPN using your selected region. If you want to stream Despicable Me on more than one device, it's possible you'll need to configure each one to ensure you're signed in. Go to settings and check your network connections to verify you're logged in and connected to your VPN account. Now you're ready to open Peacock to stream. 

If you run into issues with streaming, first make sure your VPN is up and running on its encrypted IP address. Double-check that you've followed installation instructions correctly and picked the right geographical area for viewing. If you still encounter connection problems, you may need to reboot your device. Close all apps and windows, restart your device and connect to your VPN first. Note that some streaming services will restrict VPN access.