NEW YORK (newsdesk) \u2014 The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday overhauled its upcoming film release plans, postponing some of its biggest films and shifting Marvel\u2019s \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d among other titles, to Disney+ the same time they arrive in theaters.\u201cBlack Widow,\u201d once planned to debut in May 2020, had been set to kickoff the summer movie season on May 7. It will instead premiere July 9. And it will do so simultaneously on the company\u2019s streaming platform for a $30 early-access fee.For theaters, which are beginning to reopen after punishing months of closure due to the pandemic, the announcement was a blow to hopes of an imminent recovery. While bigger and bigger films have turned to streaming and premium-on-demand in recent months, Marvel movies are Hollywood\u2019s most bankable box-office behemoths.Disney will instead launch its summer with \u201cCruella\u201d on its previously scheduled date, May 28. The \u201c101 Dalmatians\u201d spinoff with Emma Stone will also premiere in both theaters and on Disney+ for $30 \u2014 the same hybrid approach the studio took with the recent release of \u201cRaya and the Last Dragon.\u201dDisney has not announced viewing data on \u201cRaya and the Last Dragon\u201d but on Tuesday called its performance \u201csuccessful.\u201d\u201cToday\u2019s announcement reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences,\u201d said Kareem Daniel, Disney\u2019s distribution chief. \u201cBy leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company\u2019s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world.\u201dThe Pixar film \u201cLuca\u201d will bypass theaters entirely. On June 18, it will debut exclusively on Disney+. In December when announcing an ambitious array of streaming programming, the company suggested that Disney+ would regularly be home to Pixar, among other brands.Over the next few years, Disney is planning to premiere directly on Disney+ not just an armada of \u201cStar Wars\u201d and Marvel series but 15 live-action, Pixar and animated series, and 15 live-action, Pixar and animated movies.The studio also postponed the releases of \u201cFree Guy\u201d (From May 21 to Aug. 13); \u201cShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u201d (from July 9 to Aug. 3); \u201cDeep Water\u201d (from Aug. 13 to January 2022); \u201cThe King\u2019s Man\u201d (from Aug. 20 to Dec. 22); and \u201cDeath on the Nile\u201d (from Sept. 17 to February 2022).About half of North American theaters are currently open but many more are set to in the coming weeks. New York and Los Angeles, the two largest markets, recently allowed theaters to open at reduced capacities. On Tuesday, CineworldGroup, owner of the second-largest chain in the country, Regal Cinemas, said its theaters would reopen in early April.Some studios have begun to move up, not postpone, their biggest films. Paramount Pictures moved \u201cA Quiet Place Part II\u201d from September to May 28.Warner Bros. earlier set a release plan for 2021 that, like Disney will with \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d gives viewers the choice of paying for a movie at home or on the big screen. Warner\u2019s entire 2021 slate is debuting simultaneously on its streaming platform, HBO Max, and in theaters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW YORK (newsdesk) \u2014 The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday overhauled its upcoming film release plans, postponing some of its biggest films and shifting Marvel\u2019s \u201cBlack Widow,\u201d among other titles, to Disney+ the same time they arrive in theaters.\u201cBlack Widow,\u201d once planned to debut in May 2020, had been set to kickoff the summer movie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showbiz","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n