Disney+ had recently announced that they were going to put “Soul” on their Disney+ service on Christmas Day. They were doing it as a “courtesy” to subscribers and would not be charging a “Premium Pass” price for the film. Now Warner has announced that the highly anticipated “Wonder Woman 84” will also be dropping on HBO Max Christmas Day and it too will not be costing the subscribers any more money. And they will be launching “Wonder Woman 1984” into theaters on the same day, putting a public effort into helping theaters.
Disney is offering “Soul” but let’s face it, this wasn’t one that they were banking on to bring in a lot of money. If it were they would have gone “Premium Pass” with it. It isn’t like they were giving subscribers “Black Widow,” which would be a more comparable release to “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Plus Disney has done very little to help out the movie theater industry. Other industry leaders like Universal and Warner Bros. are trying to at least appear to be helping. Disney is just doubling down on their “direct-to-consumer” direction and have given little assurances to the theaters that have bowed to their terms for years.
Right now public opinion is going to swing in favor of HBO Max because they are giving subscribers something they’ve been waiting for and it doesn’t feel like they are just throwing it up there because they knew it wouldn’t do that well in the theaters and want to look good. They are making sure to limit the HBO Max release to one month only, so that it can focus on a longer theatrical run into 2021.
Where does this leave “Black Widow?” Well it depends on who you ask. Some places are reporting that they are hearing Disney is considering a release on Disney+, but it’s highly unlikely that they will just give it to subscribers. If they release it on the platform it will most assuredly be a “Premium Pass” title.
Other places are saying that they do not think Disney will release “Black Widow” on the streaming service and will go to theaters instead.
It will be interesting to see what they do, especially since they have just been far outdone by Warner. But my guess is they will release it to Disney+ for “Premium Pass” and they will put it in theaters at the same time. I do not expect them to give it to subscribers upcharge free for 30 days like Warner is.
I for one am far more excited about “Wonder Woman 1984.”
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.