With more cinemas closing every day, Disney has decided to bring the Chris Pratt and Tom Holland movie to its streaming service Disney+ much earlier than initially planned, as well as making the movie available to buy online. Whereas movies usually have a seven-month gap between airing in theaters and coming to streaming services, Onward will come to the Disney streaming service just under a month after its original cinema release.
Per a Disney announcement, Onward has been given a Disney+ release date of Friday, April 3, when it is expected to be available from around midnight PT (which is currently seven hours behind GMT).
In a statement, director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae said of this early streaming date, “While we’re looking forward to audiences enjoying our films on the big screen again soon, given the current circumstances, we are pleased to release this fun, adventurous film to digital platforms early for audiences to enjoy from the comfort of their homes.”
With the addition of Onward to its catalogue, Disney+ now has all Pixar feature films with the exception of Incredibles 2. However, by the summer, that movie will also be on the service, with the superhero sequel due to join the original movie and the 20 other Pixar movies on the streamer on July 30, 2020.
So far, Disney and Pixar have not announced whether the coronvirus crisis will affect the release of their second movie out this year, the Jamie Foxx-starring Soul. So far, the movie’s June 19 cinematic release date has not been postponed.
