by Conan Simmons – March 23, 2021 – 6:51 pm
Major Hollywood studio, Disney has caved to the ongoing pressure of the global pandemic and announced that upcoming theatrical releases will be day-and-date releases to the company’s streaming service Disney+, some with an additional $30 fee.
The highly anticipated Marvel comics adaptation ‘Black Widow’ is the most noteworthy as it is expected to relaunch the MCU into theaters. However, it has now vacated its May 7 release date and moved into July 9 where it will premiere on the streaming service with the added $30 fee. It will be a day-and-date release so for those wishing to see it in theaters you can.
Disney’s ‘Cruella’, starring Emma Stone, maintains its release date of May 28 with the only change being it will now also be a day-and-date release on Disney+ for an added $30 fee.
The upcoming Pixar animated feature ‘Luca’ will bypass theaters altogether in favor of streaming for free on Disney+. Much like ‘Soul’ did last December. While ‘Soul’ is on track fo the Oscar, Disney has yet to reveal the streaming numbers, a tactic studios usually use when they want to keep financial losses private.
With the shift of the release date for ‘Black Widow’ into July 9, the previous Marvel film set for July, ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ now moves into September 3. Disney is currently claiming it will be in theaters only, but then that’s what they said about ‘Black Widow’ until today. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ stars Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Tony Leung and Michelle Yeoh.
‘The Eternals’, directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani and Kit Harrington, is currently still set for release on November 5 with no word on streaming yet.
Disney’s latest release, the animated film ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’, is currently number one for a third consecutive week at the box office. It was released day-and-date on Disney+ with the additional $30 fee. Overall the film has made approximately $70 million to date from theaters. No word on how much it made from streaming.
Which is a problem.
Disney loves to brag about how well their movies do streaming on Disney+ but they never actually say what the numbers are. Last September, ‘Mulan’ debuted on the streaming service with the $30 fee. Disney was quiet about the films performance and by December it was streaming for free on the service. Still, Disney has not revealed the difference in numbers (if any) that may have resulted.
The same can be said about the Pixar film ‘Soul’. Released solely to streaming Disney touted it as a great success while still staying mum on the numbers.
It’s not just movies. Even their latest television series based on Marvel comics, ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ is being bragged about by the company has having a great number of views. But what are the numbers?
It’s like a snake oil salesman peddling movies.
The best indicators of which shows and movies are doing well on the streaming service comes from word of mouth and online chatter. ‘The Mandalorian’, based in the Star Wars universe, and ‘WandaVision’, based in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both garnered loads of online chatter and word of mouth was universally positive. Still, Disney has not revealed viewership numbers.
With Warner Bros. recently entering into an agreement with Regal Cinemas for a 45 day theatrical release before moving their films to streaming, a deal that begins in 2022, will Disney show a lack of conviction in the end?