Disney+ Will Release More Major Disney Films in the Future

Published on April 7, 2020

Theater owners aren’t going to appreciate this news. Former Disney CEO and now executive chairman, Bob Iger, says Disney+ subscribers should expect more major releases from the company on their streaming platform soon. Following the decision to release the very expensive Artemis Fowl on Disney+, expect more of the studio’s titles to drop online.

The Artemis Fowl Change

The buzz is, admittedly, not strong for the fantasy movie. Even fans of the popular property are left confused by the fantasy adaptation. The tepid reactions to the trailer spelled trouble for the summer movie, so releasing it on Disney+ and cutting the marketing budget, well, it’s probably saving the studio rom having a summer bomb on their hands. 

During an interview with Barron about the future of the company, Iger said to expect more movies to join Artemis Fowl on streaming: 

“In terms of movies going ahead after Artemis, there may be a few more that we end up putting directly onto Disney+, but for the most part a lot of the big tentpole Disney films, we’ll simply wait for slots. In some cases we’ve announced new ones already, but later on in the calendar.”

Which Titles?

The prime suspect to go to streaming is The New Mutants, which the studio inherited from 20th Century Fox. The comic book movie has been delayed multiple times. The New Mutants is darker in tone than the average Disney product, so it wouldn’t be surprising if that title finds itself on Hulu soon. 

As Iger explained, it’s more their kid-friendly pics going to Disney+ at the moment:

“In some cases we’ve moved things onto Disney+ faster than we would have. Frozen 2 was one of them, but Onward would be the biggest example. It was in theaters when this happened. We moved to a pay-per-view period for a couple of weeks where people could buy it and own it. And then we ended up putting it on Disney+.”

Don’t Expect Disney’s Biggest Titles on Disney+

The Marvel movies and the upcoming Mulan are absolutely going to theaters. They all have new release dates. They’re just too expensive to go to streaming. Disney wants and needs those billion dollar box-office receipts. Theater owners need those movies to survive, too, which is why they’re not too upset about Artemis Fowl going to Disney+. Since Disney is keeping most of their major titles in theaters, it’s fair. 

The Rise in Streaming

As we’ve covered before on Grit Daily, streaming is at an all-time high right now. Netflix has even had to lessen their video quality for users in Europe. How’s Disney+ doing at the moment? According to Iger, fortunately and unfortunately, very well:

Unfortunately, or fortunately, it’s going great. The launch in Europe has been strong. France is just launching, because we delayed them, because they had some concerns about bandwidth. India just launched. We’re going to have launches in Latin America coming up. But the bottom line is that I think Disney+ was going to be popular no matter what. In this time, it’s probably far more popular than we ever imagined it would be, in part because it’s a welcome relief and a great alternative in terms of entertainment, for people who don’t have access given all the restrictions.

Outside of movies, Iger says consumers may soon return to the parks with new safety measures and restrictions. The game plan is for Disney parks to reopen in June. If that happens, Iger says, Disney may install new measures to keep people safe. They may monitor park guests’ health, similar to how China is doing it on public transportation. 

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Jack Giroux is a Staff Writer at Grit Daily. Based in Los Angeles, he is an entertainment journalist who's previously written for Thrillist, Slash Film, Film School Rejects, and The Film Stage.

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