Bob Chapek, CEO of Disney, recently held a meeting with its shareholders to review, among other matters, the progress of its platform of streaming. Disney + now has 103.6 million subscribers worldwide, and although it is a breathtaking amount, it does not reach the 110 they had set as their growth target. Parallel to revealing these data, the board of directors announced what would happen to its premieres in the coming months, making it clear that the strategy to follow during 2022 would be born from its results.
The most significant decision, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has been to put aside the hybrid model (rooms / streaming) in the face of two titles: Free Guy Y Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings. The first, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, has experienced numerous delays in its release date until it is set for the August 13, and will finally be released exclusively in theaters. The same will happen with Shang-Chi, film belonging to the Marvel Universe that he directs Destin Daniel Cretton and stars Simu Liu. This would hit the big screen on September 3.
Both the film sponsored by 20th Century Studios and the new installment of the MCU will be 45 days on traditional exhibition circuits before jumping into the streaming within some Disney service. With this model, which the company has not practiced since before the outbreak of the pandemic (when it had managed to be the brand that sold the most tickets in theaters), the Casa del Ratón intends to study whether the recovery that the health situation is pointing to would be enough to re-establish this distribution as a key business model.
Free Guy Y Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings they will be the only films that, for now, experience this treatment. Raya and the last dragon hosted a hybrid model, and this will be signed in the immediate future by Cruella (available in theaters and Disney + with Premium Access next May 28), Black widow (July 9th) and, as recently announced, Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson Y Emily Blunt (June 30th). To which must be added the treatment given to Pixar films, which after Soul will once again have an exclusive premiere on Disney + at no additional cost with Luca, available from June 18.
“Beyond this year we have not announced a strategy. But we know that we will continue studying the evolution of the recovery of the cinematographic exhibition ”, Chapek explained. Yes Free Guy Y Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings They run to their exclusive release in theaters, it is possible that these will again be the preferred destination for Disney next year. If they don’t, the hybrid model would probably continue to be the most helpful option.
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