As theatres are slowly beginning to open in the United States, it seems like Hollywood studios are still not ready to release their much-anticipated movies on the big screen.
Speaking of which, Disney has announced the release dates of its upcoming movies such as Scarlet Johansson’s “Black Widow,” Emma Stone’s “Cruella,” “Shang-Chi: The legend of the Ten Rings,” Pixar’s “Luca,” and several others.
Reportedly, Cruella and Black Widow are going to stream on Disney Plus after running in theaters for a short while. “Cruella” is releasing on the same day as scheduled i.e. on May 28th, while “Black Widow” has been postponed for two months and slated to release on July 9, instead of 7th May.
Viewers will be able to access both the movies on Premier, with additional charges of $30.
The delay in the release of Black Widow means that other Marvel movies like “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will be pushed back to 13th September—they were originally planned to release in early July. If things started getting better, the movies are expected to have a usual theatrical release.
However, Pixar’s upcoming animated adventure “Luca” will not have a theatrical release; instead, the movie will be dropped on Disney plus for online streaming on 18th June. Don’t worry, Disney is not adding additional fees for it.
Despite the huge turnout of subscribers on their streaming platform (thanks to Marvel’s WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki), the studio has no plans to ditch cinemas entirely! Disney has delayed a number of small-budgeted movies to release them later on the big screens.
Here is the list of movies expected to release in theatre this summer:
Ryan Reynolds’ “Free Guy” is going to release in 13th August.
“The King’s Man” is scheduled to hit cinemas on 22nd December.
“Deep Water” is slated to release on 14th Jan, 2020 and “Death on the Nile” on 11th Feb, 2022.
The Chairman of Disney media and Entertainment distribution, Kareem Daniel says that the decision “reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences.”
“By leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world,” he added.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan” skipped cinemas and released on Disney Plus with an additional premium fee. It was the first movie that took the bold decision to ditch theatres entirely and embrace digital streaming platforms.
As of now, the company hasn’t yet released the official numbers of viewership on their streaming offerings, but Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek has suggested that the studio will continue to take risks with their release plans as long as the worldwide theatre situation remains affected. The decision comes days after the company believed to break record viewership with the latest Marvel’s TV series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Disney Plus.
Studio executives and filmmakers are optimistic with the gradual opening of movie theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. However, these theaters are operating with only 25% capacity, allowing only 100 people per auditorium in L.A and 50 in New York. Limited capacity means less ticket sales, which makes it difficult for big-budgeted movies to make big profits.
Still, entertainment-seekers are optimistic about having a spectacular summer movie season. Even Disney and other studios are hoping that entertainment-seekers will come out in huge numbers if theatres begin to operate with full capacity. With this hope, Paramount has bumped up the release date of “A Quite Place 2” from September to 28th May, along with Universal, who has decided to release “F9” a month early on June 25.
So, are you excited for the movies? Because we are!
Just by the way, Ryan Reynolds released a video of himself in which he announced the release date of “Free Guy” in a most hilarious way! Do check it out!
Stay tuned to Hayvine and like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated with the Walt Disney’s latest release dates of upcoming movies, such as Marvel’s Sang Chi, Legend of the Ten Rings, Luca, and many more.