There has been a rather discouraging trend of Disney sending Pixar films to Disney+ for free. The prestigious animation studio was one of the leading voices in spearheading our modern understanding of CG-animated filmmaking. Yet, as the pandemic hit, things haven’t been easy for everyone in the industry. Especially with uncertainty if families will visit cinemas as they did before the pandemic started in 2020. As such, Disney made the move to release some of its films on their new streaming service.
Strangely, there still is seemingly no clear strategy moving forward. Only select films were made available through their Premier Access options, where you can purchase the film for a set price. Yet, while their original and Marvel Studios offerings got the special treatment, Pixar’s Soul and Luca didn’t get the same. They were made available for free to push Disney+’s subscription numbers. Turning Red, their next film, was their big return to cinemas but ended up following the same fate. In a new piece by The Hollywood Reporter, they shared a statement by an anonymous Pixar employee on the situation.
Everyone is really bummed, but most of us get it. Families just aren’t going to the movies
They highlight that the company isn’t mad about the decision, but more disappointed. There’s a good chance that Encanto’s low box office numbers were one of the reasons they went down this route, especially. Sing 2, the most recent animated film to release in theaters, also didn’t fare much better if compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Here’s hoping that the current omicron development gets better so that Pixar can make its grand return to cinemas once again.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
