Marvel’s Shang-Chi not yet available to stream on Disney Plus

by marvel Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings was one of the biggest box office successes of the pandemic. Riding a wave of critical praise and buzz about his martial arts fight scenes, Shang-Chi raised more than $ 264 million in ticket revenue worldwide in two weeks. A major factor in this success was the movie’s streaming strategy, which was to not stream it at all.

Unlike the other movies Disney released during the pandemic, Shang-Chi wasn’t available to stream. Disney plus. While this surely helped bolster Shang-Chi’s box office, the strategy narrows down the options for fans who have become accustomed to streaming movies on the same day or for anyone. nervous about going to the movies because the delta variant is fueling an increase in COVID-19.

When is Shang-Chi airing on Disney Plus?

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are expected to land on Disney plus air in mid-October, likely at no additional cost to subscribers.

However, Disney has repeatedly said that it values ​​flexibility above all else as it decides how to release movies during the pandemic. The company has yet to give full confirmation on how Shang-Chi will be released on Disney Plus, so those expectations may change.

Shang-Chi agrees to be in theaters exclusively for at least 45 days. At this point, in mid-October, the film is expected to hit Disney Plus. If Disney is sticking to precisely a 45-day theatrical window, it would be Monday, October 18. That’s much faster than Disney theatrical releases reach the streaming service before the pandemic, when it typically took them five to eight months to start streaming.

And Shang-Chi is expected to stream on Disney Plus at no additional cost, in large part because Disney Plus has never charged a fee for anything on its service except for a brand new movie. Every other $ 30 Premier Access release has been a movie available in theaters and on Disney Plus the same day.

But again, these expectations are subject to change. The Disney CEO indicated this exit plan for Shang-Chi in mid-August. At the time, he stressed the company’s commitment to a theatrical exclusivity for Shang-Chi, but he was less concrete about what happens after the 45-day movie. He indicated that Disney Plus was Shang-Chi’s destination after the 45-day window, while reiterating that the company wanted to remain flexible.

Why isn’t Shang-Chi available to stream on Disney Plus?

On September 3, Shang-Chi became available exclusively in theaters, a big departure from Disney’s new normal during the pandemic. As cinemas closed or reduced capacity, Disney plus has become an outlet for society to make films accessible to a wider audience, especially as the stock of overdue films increased.

Some Disney movies – typically low-budget live-action movies and its latest Pixar, Luca, and Soul movies – skipped theaters completely and were available to stream on Disney Plus at no additional cost. For bigger movies, Disney Plus introduced its Premier Access model to sell streaming access to new movies on the big screen. Disney Plus members could stream brand new movies at home for $ 30 on top of their subscription price. Disney released five films with this Premier Access option, including Marvel’s Black Widow in July.

Then, as vaccinations widened, Disney reintroduced plans for theatrical exclusives. The first movie to hit theaters this way was Free Guy, a 20th century video game comedy from Disney Studios. It hit theaters on August 13, with a 45-day pledge to be only available in theaters.

Then the delta variant threw a wrench into all of the studios’ release plans, which they crafted at the height of optimism for a box office revival. Surveys have shown that consumers feel less comfortable going to the movies again.

In the mess of all these factors, Shang-Chi has hit theaters. It was the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie released in theaters since the release of Sony’s Spider-Man: Far from Home in July 2019. Shang-Chi’s box office performance has not kept pace with a Pre-pandemic MCU release like Far From Home – – at this point in Spider-Man’s 2019 release, he had grossed over $ 243 million at the domestic box office, nearly 100 million more than Shang-Chi has generated so far. But Shang-Chi has consistently outperformed several pre-pandemic Marvel movies, like 2015’s Ant-Man. He’s even doing better than Black Widow at this point.

Shang-Chi has basically proven that, at least for a movie in the world’s most successful movie franchise, moviegoers will show up in theaters even if COVID-19 rises if they can’t stream it at home. .

What will happen when the next Marvel movie, Eternals, releases in November?

Eternals, a star-studded Marvel movie slated for theatrical release on November 5, does not yet have a confirmed streaming release date. But here’s what we know, and some educated guesses on what to expect:

• Disney expects Eternals to be in theaters exclusively for at least 45 days when it first releases on November 5.
• Disney Plus will be the only service that (eventually) airs Eternals when it becomes available to stream, but we have no real indication of when Eternals will air on Disney Plus. It may arrive at Disney Plus immediately after the 45-day cinema window, or it may take longer while Eternals is first released for rental online and in other formats.
• Shang-Chi’s streaming timing can be a strong indicator of how Disney will approach Eternals’ streaming release plan. Shang-Chi is currently slated to hit Disney Plus immediately after its 45-day theaters window, likely available to subscribers at no additional cost. But it is possible that that will change.

Eternals could arrive on Disney Plus right after its 45 days in theaters, or it could take several months to start airing. Before the pandemic, new Disney films would make their way to Disney plus approximately five to eight months after their premiere in theaters. If Disney returns to this standard, it’s possible that Disney Plus subscribers will wait until summer 2022 to start streaming Eternals. But it’s more likely that Eternals will be available to stream on Disney Plus much earlier than pre-pandemic standards.

Unfortunately, we won’t know for sure until Disney confirms a streaming plan. And that won’t confirm an Eternals streaming plan until Disney gets to see how Shang-Chi behaves, both in theaters and on Disney Plus.