Collectors who cannot make the trip to San Diego this year still have a full slate of Sideshow programming to follow. Sideshow Con 2026 begins today, Monday, July 20, and runs through Friday, July 24, offering a mix of livestreams, collector contests, digital downloads, product coverage, and behind-the-scenes convention updates ahead of San Diego Comic-Con’s public opening on July 23.
The online event is notable because it gives the wider collecting community a way to participate in the SDCC conversation without needing a convention badge, hotel reservation, or access to the show floor. For statue collectors, Hot Toys fans, Marvel and DC enthusiasts, and anyone tracking Sideshow’s next wave of reveals, the livestream schedule is designed to function as a remote extension of the booth experience.
A Five-Day Schedule Built Around Collector Interaction
Sideshow’s programming begins each morning at 10 a.m. Pacific Time with a themed game or fan activity. A daily “Beyond the Booth” livestream follows at 2 p.m. Pacific Time, giving the event a predictable rhythm for viewers who want to keep up with announcements while monitoring social media and convention coverage.
The schedule is as follows:
- Monday, July 20: Badge Bingo at 10 a.m.; Beyond the Booth at 2 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 21: Con Quiz at 10 a.m.; Beyond the Booth at 2 p.m.
- Wednesday, July 22: Wheel of Chaos at 10 a.m.; Beyond the Booth at 2 p.m.
- Thursday, July 23: Posers at 10 a.m.; Beyond the Booth at 2 p.m.
- Friday, July 24: Fandom Feud at 10 a.m.; Beyond the Booth at 2 p.m.
Although the announcement describes Sideshow Con as four days of programming, the published schedule covers five consecutive days, from Monday through Friday. For collectors planning their viewing calendar, the daily listings are the more useful reference point.
The morning activities are structured as interactive fan contests rather than conventional product presentations. That makes them a natural fit for Sideshow’s existing community-driven approach, where collectors can participate through livestream chats, social media prompts, and online contest platforms instead of simply watching a prerecorded announcement.
What to Expect From Beyond the Booth
The central feature of the event is Beyond the Booth, a daily wrap-up show focused on new product announcements, pop culture news, trailers, and convention developments. Sideshow also plans to use the program to discuss current contests and potentially showcase favorite giveaway entries from each day.
For collectors, the most important part of the format is the promise of product coverage. Sideshow says the broadcasts will include collectible reveals spanning major licensed properties, with the company’s SDCC presence expected to include Hot Toys figures and premium statues from Marvel, DC, Star Wars, and other franchises.
The daily timing should also make Beyond the Booth useful for collectors following SDCC remotely from different time zones. Rather than waiting for scattered booth photos or social media posts, viewers will have a recurring livestream window where reveals and convention news are gathered into a single presentation. That does not guarantee that every upcoming product will receive a complete reveal, but it does give fans a clearer way to track Sideshow’s convention activity.
Collectors should also keep expectations measured. The announcement does not provide a complete list of products, specifications, prices, edition sizes, or release windows for the items that may appear during the event. Those details will need to be confirmed through individual product announcements or official listings once reveals are made.
The Grand Prize Is a Waitlisted Spider-Man and Venom Maquette
The headline website giveaway is Sideshow’s Spider-Man Vs Venom Maquette. The piece is identified as waitlisted, which makes it a particularly attention-grabbing prize for collectors who missed its original availability. The giveaway runs from July 20 through July 26 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time through Sideshow’s contests and giveaways page.
The waitlisted status is worth noting from a collector perspective. At Sideshow, a waitlist reservation is not the same as a confirmed order and does not guarantee that a collectible will become available. In this case, however, the company is presenting the maquette as the grand prize for the event, giving fans a chance to pursue the piece through the official contest even though ordinary purchasing access is limited.
Additional prizes will be tied to the livestreams and Sideshow’s broader community programming. The announcement lists group giveaways connected to Let Your Geek Sideshow, the Sideshow Social Network, and Let Your Statue Sideshow, although the specific prizes for those categories are not identified in the published schedule.
There will also be two types of social media contests. Flash Giveaways are short-duration contests posted through Sideshow’s official social accounts, while Giveaway Challenges use the Crowdpurr platform at sideshow.live. These challenges involve a special hashtag and access code, with a set amount of time to complete the task and submit an entry.
That format is familiar to experienced convention followers: the best opportunities may not remain open all day. Collectors who want to participate should pay attention to the official social posts, read the entry requirements carefully, and avoid assuming that watching a livestream alone automatically counts as an entry.
Free Registration Includes a Small Collector Perk
Registration for Sideshow Con is free, and the company says registered participants will receive $5 in Sideshow Rewards credited to their account. For collectors already planning a purchase, that is a modest but useful incentive, especially when applied toward a future figure, statue, art print, or accessory.
The credit is best viewed as a bonus rather than a reason by itself to buy. Sideshow’s Rewards program generally allows eligible points to be applied at checkout toward merchandise, but collectors should still review the applicable terms and account status before assuming the credit can be used on a particular order or promotion.
Sideshow is also offering digital wallpapers and event badges. The wallpapers are intended for phones and tablets, while the badges can be printed and customized. They are not physical convention exclusives, but collectors who enjoy documenting events, decorating display spaces, or creating themed collection photos may find them more appealing than a standard promotional download.
Sideshow Returns to Booth 2401
The online event leads directly into Sideshow’s in-person SDCC presence at Booth 2401. San Diego Comic-Con 2026 runs from July 23 through July 26, with Preview Night scheduled for Wednesday, July 22. Sideshow says its booth will feature new reveals, event exclusives, special offers, onsite contests, and opportunities for fans to meet the team.
That combination of online and physical programming is important for collectors who follow convention exclusives closely. The livestreams can build anticipation and surface early announcements, while the booth itself is where fans can assess scale, paint applications, sculpt details, portrait work, and overall display presence in person.
Collector verdict: Sideshow Con 2026 is most useful for collectors who want convention coverage without attending SDCC, particularly fans tracking premium statues, Hot Toys releases, and limited-edition giveaways. The $5 Rewards credit and digital downloads are secondary perks, but the real draw is the chance to follow product reveals and contest announcements in real time during one of the hobby calendar’s busiest weeks.
For collectors participating from home, the practical approach is simple: mark the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pacific Time livestreams, monitor Sideshow’s official social channels for short-window contests, and treat the Spider-Man Vs Venom giveaway as a separate entry opportunity rather than assuming it is connected to every broadcast.
Sources
- sideshow.com
- comic-con.org
- help.sideshow.com
