Last Friday, the exhibition took a bullet when Disney announced that it was shifting its upcoming release of TURNING RED out of theatres to Disney+ streaming. The 25th Pixar feature was expected to produce results at the box office, following the tradition of titles such as TOY STORY, COCO, THE INCREDIBLES, and ENCANTO.
However, Disney has also tasted some success by releasing Pixar movies online, most recently with SOUL and LUCA. According to internal research, users who sign up for Disney+ to watch Pixar titles tend to remain subscribers at higher rates than users who are prompted to sign up for other titles. With the theatrical market for family films still somewhat depressed – only SING 2 has generated more than $100M domestically during pandemic times – Disney made the calculation that its potential benefit to Disney+ would be worth more than its prospects at the box office, at least in the current environment. The growth of Disney+ has stagnated over the past few quarters, and this move may be driven by a need to jumpstart the subscription service, rather than a rebuke of the theatrical market.
Many of the Pixar team that created TURNING RED are said to be disappointed by Disney skipping over theatres. One Pixar animator was reported saying, “It’s safe to say that we’re all feeling extremely disappointed. Until today, we all thought TURNING RED would be our return to the big screen, and everyone at the studio was so excited about it being this film in particular. It was quite a blow.” By streaming Pixar titles, Disney risks hurting morale at one of its most storied and profitable film divisions.
See also: How Pixar Staff Reportedly Feels About Turning Red Being Released on Disney+ Instead of Theater (Cinema Blend)
