Disney and Pixar announced today that ‘Onward’ would be coming to Disney+ starting on April 3. This comes less than a month after the movie hit theaters.
It will also be available on digital platforms – including Movies Anywhere – starting tonight, March 20 at 5PM PST, for $19.99. But if you’re okay with waiting a bit longer, it’ll be available from Disney+ for free on April 3.
Onward was released in theaters on March 6. It was only in theaters for almost two weeks before theaters were shut down, almost nationwide. Most theaters closed on Wednesday, March 18. It made about $103 million worldwide, before theaters were closed.
Most movies are being postponed, but not Onward
There’s a good reason why Onward is not being postponed. And that’s because it was already in the theater. Disney and Pixar couldn’t just delay it until after the Coronavirus pandemic was over. Which is why it’s coming to Disney+ much sooner than anticipated.
While it might seem like Disney and Pixar are losing out here, by putting it on digital so soon, they really aren’t. This means that people will actually be able to watch it during the Coronavirus pandemic, and it is also drumming up even more hype for Disney+. As if Disney needed to add more hype for Disney+.
This isn’t the only movie that Disney is adding to Disney+ really early. It launched Frozen II on Disney+ over this past weekend. So now your kids have even more content to keep them busy during the outbreak.
Other Disney films are delayed until at least 2021
Disney and many other movie studios have decided to delay their movies and production. Most of them are delayed until at least 2021. Which is unfortunate for fans of Marvel’s Black Widow. Or even the new James Bond movie, and Fast 9. All of which were supposed to launch this Spring, and make for a really popular time at the theaters. But that’s no longer happening thanks to the Coronavirus.
Streaming services have been adding more and more content to their library over the past week or so, as more people are now at home with nothing to do. This way they have more content to watch. And it’s all being done at no additional charge. On top of that, there is no live sports either. So services like ESPN+ really have to try hard to get users on-board now. Luckily they do have a lot of original content already available.