Disney Plus has been the breakout hit among a wave of new streaming services, leaning into its deep library of shows and movies, buzzy originals …
Disney Plus has been the breakout hit among a wave of new streaming services, leaning into its deep library of shows and movies, buzzy originals and big-screen films to watch the same time they hit theaters. Loki, its latest Marvel original series, dropped its season finale Wednesday; the service’s shows like The Mandalorian and WandaVision racked up Emmy nominations; and Marvel ‘s Black Widow is the latest — and the biggest — same-day film release so far, available to stream there now. But while every Disney Plus subscribers can watch Loki, not everyone can stream Black Widow. Black Widow is available only for subscribers who pay an extra fee. It’s available through the Premier Access model, which requires an extra $30 payment on top of the regular price of a Disney Plus subscription. It appeared to be a popular option. Black Widow had a big audience over the weekend, with Disney Plus subscribers spending more than $60 million to watch it online. That works out to roughly 2 million accounts opting to stream it instead of going to a theater. (Black Widow had a big reception on the big screen too, with a $158 million haul at the box office worldwide). But keep in mind: Disney Plus recently raised prices, and last year it eliminated its seven-day free trial for new members. As of late March, Disney Plus’ monthly subscription now costs $8 in the US, a price increase of $1 a month. Its annual plan went up by $10, to $80 a year. And Disney’s three-service bundle — combining streaming access to Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus — also went up $1 a month. But the monthly rate of Disney Plus is still roughly half the price of HBO Max and compares with Netflix’s cheapest tier, which is $9 a month. Black Widow is scheduled to become part of the standard Disney Plus catalog on Oct.6. Some people refer to this as the date Black Widow will be « free » to watch, but everything on Disney Plus still requires a paid subscription. Black Widow was released on Disney Plus’ Premier Access model, and its release should be the same as those of other Premier Access titles that came before. With Premier Access, films cost $30 to unlock on top of the price you pay for a Disney Plus subscription. You can purchase access to the film on Disneyplus.com and in the service’s apps for Apple (including iPhones), Google (including Android phones), Amazon, Roku and other platforms. The service will automatically prompt you to pony up with your payment method already on file and request that you enter details like a credit card CVV number. Purchasers are able to watch Black Widow for as long as they remain active Disney Plus subscribers. In this way, Premier Access isn’t like unlocking an online rental that expires. Once you pay for a Premier Access title like Black Widow, you can keep watching it for as long as your account remains active. The price varies internationally in local currencies, but the value of the international prices is generally on par with $30. Taxes vary by country. In some countries, purchasers will need to pay taxes on top of the purchase. But in other countries, like those in the eurozone, the price already includes taxes. Basically, you have two months to decide. Premier Access is typically available as a purchase option for two months after a title is released. But, like other Premier Access movies that came before, Black Widow won’t become part of the standard catalog for three months. That leaves a one-month gap. Black Widow is expected to be unavailable for purchase on Disney Plus in early September, a month before it joins the standard library any subscriber can stream. People who previously purchased Black Widow on Disney Plus won’t have any disruption to their access to the title, though. Technically, Disney Plus’s next Marvel original series will be What If?…, an animated series with a star-studded voice cast. It is set to premiere on Aug.11 But the next live-action Marvel series — that is, one similar to Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision — will either be Hawkeye or Ms. Marvel. So far, Disney Plus hasn’t confirmed a release date for either, other than generally planning for both to come out sometime before the end of the year. Hawkeye, specifically, was previously slated for fall. The Hawkeye series stars Jeremy Renner, reprising his role from the movies. The show will add the character Kate Bishop, who in the comics becomes a second Hawkeye; Hailee Steinfeld is playing the role. Ms. Marvel is also introducing a new character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the comic books, the Ms. Marvel character was first incarnated by Carol Danvers, who later took up the identity of Captain Marvel. Then the name was most recently passed on to Kamala Khan, a teen protege of Danvers who is Marvel’s first Muslim character to headline her own comic book. Jungle Cruise is set to become available on Disney Plus July 30, the same day it hits theaters. Like Black Widow, it will be part of the Premier Access model, and so it will require the extra $30 payment to watch online. The movie will be streamable at no added cost for all regular Disney Plus subscribers on Aug.27. Some people refer to this as the date Cruella will be « free » to watch, but everything on Disney Plus requires a paid subscription. On Aug.27, Cruella will simply no longer require any additional fee. Cruella is expected to be unavailable for purchase on Disney Plus in late July, a month before it joins the standard library any subscriber can stream. (But by that time, the movie should be available in other formats, like standard online rentals, Blu-ray, etc.) Disney hasn’t confirmed a streaming release date yet for Eternals, which is a star-packed Marvel movie scheduled to be released in theaters on Nov.5. But here’s what we know and some educated guesses about what to expect. Before the pandemic, new Disney movies would make their way to Disney Plus about five to eight months after they premiered in theaters. That means it’s possible that Disney Plus subscribers could be waiting until summer 2022 to start streaming Eternals. We won’t know for certain until Disney confirms the streaming plan for Eternals. And we won’t be able to make an educated guess about that until the company sets the streaming plan for Shang-Chi, the big Marvel movie that will precede Eternals. During the pandemic, Disney Plus introduced this Premier Access model to sell streaming access to new, big-screen movies as a way to get the movie out to wider audiences while cinemas where shuttered or open at a fraction of their normal capacity. So far, Disney has released several movies this way: the live-action remake of Mulan, animated fantasy Raya and the Last Dragon, and Cruella. Black Widow is the latest one, and it will be followed by Jungle Cruise on July 30. But as cinema restrictions ease and more people feel safe crowding into movie theaters, Disney is going to reintroduce theatrical-only windows starting in August. Free Guy, a sci-fi comedy from Disney’s 20th Century Fox, will be released in theaters exclusively for 45 days starting Aug.13. Then Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be released Sept.2 in theaters exclusively for 45 days as well. It’s likely that other big-budget movies like Eternals will either follow suit — or have an even longer period in cinemas only. While Disney has specified theatrical exclusives for some films, the company hasn’t clarified how its streaming plan will play out for movies like Shang-Chi and other megabudget movies like Eternals set to come out later this year. Typically, before the pandemic, new Disney movies would make their way to Disney Plus about five to eight months after they premiered in theaters. But it’s unclear whether movies like Shang-Chi and Eternals will be available on Disney Plus right after the theatrical window ends or if it will take longer for them to arrive. But for some of its forthcoming movies, Disney is simply switching films originally planned for theaters to be Disney Plus originals instead, skipping theaters entirely. This strategy mostly applies to midbudget movies, including Pinocchio, a live-action remake starring Tom Hanks; its Peter Pan reboot; Disenchanted, a sequel to Enchanted that’ll have Amy Adams reprise her princess role; and Sister Act 3, reviving the comedy franchise about nuns.
