Disney just announced that the rest of its movies in 2021 will be released in theaters rather than streaming–much to the chagrin of Covid-shy moviegoers! Despite a surge of Delta variant cases in the U.S., the company’s chairman of distribution Kareem Daniel revealed in a statement this week that the entertainment conglomerate would only be putting out films via movie theaters for the rest of the year, rather than their on Disney+ streaming service.
“As confidence in moviegoing continues to improve, we look forward to entertaining audiences in theaters, while maintaining the flexibility to give our Disney+ subscribers the gift of Encanto this holiday season,” Daniel said in the release.
Following a lawsuit by “Avengers” star Scarlett Johansson over streaming royalties from “Black Widow,” Friday’s announcement comes as little surprise (although, moviegoers who are most vulnerable to the virus seem to be missing out the most from this call).
What film releases will be affected? “Encanto” the animated film featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda will be available in movie theaters on November 24th, but the Disney+ release won’t be until Christmas. Marvel’s “Eternals” will drop in theaters on November 5th, a remake of “West Side Story” hits theaters on December 10th. Other Disney movie releases for the year like “The Last Duel,” “Ron’s Gone Wrong” and “The King’s Man,” will stay in theaters for a whopping 45 days before hitting the at-home platform.
