While some studios have made the wrong decision to delay their movies, instead of taking advantage of the situation and releasing them direct to on-demand or digital streaming services. It’s nice to see that some ongoing and upcoming movies will be pumped straight to our homes. We already heard about Sony Pictures ‘Bloodshot’ getting a super early home release, now Disney has announced that ‘Onward’ will see the same.
Later on this evening, Disney will release Onward via digital download, while Disney Plus subscribers will be able to watch the film on April 3rd, 2020. Which is fantastic news for those who wanted to check out the movie, but couldn’t because of COVID-19 concerns.
Update: Looks like Onward is already available to pre-order on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and iTunes.
#PixarOnward is coming to the US tonight on digital download and will be streaming on #DisneyPlus on April 3rd. pic.twitter.com/W6TgB4kcAa
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) March 20, 2020
With Disney making this decision, I wouldn’t be surprised if other studios also follow suit. Maybe we’ll even see Disney ‘Marvel’s Black Widow’ or Universal Pictures ‘Fast & Furious 9’ making the jump to home direct. I’m hoping so at least.
This is the sort of decision that I like to see being made. On one hand, I can see why studios are delaying their films amidst the COVID-19 concerns. Yet at the same time, we don’t have any idea how long this is going to last. Pushing a film 6 months, or an entire year is meaningless for the moment. In my mind releasing these via digital means still earns the studios some money, and people still get to see the movies. It’s a win/win. The downside is that theaters will see this hurting their bottom line. Not now, but whenever this mess clears up and if studios decide that releasing movies directly to digital download and streaming is just as beneficial.
But that’s a topic for another time. Enjoy watching Onward tonight, because I know I will.
