Disney Animation’s latest movie Wish isn’t doing well in theaters and will soon be headed to streaming on Disney+.
Wish, Disney’s latest animated musical is a certified flop at the box office, earning just $31.7 million over the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend.
That performance lagged behind the opening weekend earnings of nearly every other Walt Disney Animation Studios film, aside from a few recent releases.
The reality is that many audiences have learned in the 2020s that heading to the theater for Disney’s latest animated film may not be as necessary as it once was, as it will soon be available to stream at home.
When will Wish go live?
Since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, three Disney animated films have been released for streaming – two after theatrical openings and one directly to the service.
Here’s a look at (if any) the Disney animated movies moving from theaters to Disney+:
- Raya and the Last Dragon: March 5, 2021 (day and date, 0 days)
- Charm: 24/11/2021–24/12/2021 (30 days)
- A strange world: 23/11/2022–23/12/2022 (30 days)
Plus, here are the Disney+ release windows for Pixar movies — also notice how three of them were for streaming:
- Still: March 6, 2020 – April 3, 2020 (28 days)
- Soul: 25/12/2020–25/12/2020 (Date, 0 days)
- Luca: June 18, 2021 – June 18, 2021 (day and date, 0 days)
- Turning red: March 11, 2022 – March 11, 2022 (day and date, 0 days)
- A light year: 17.6.2022–3.8.2022 (47 days)
- Elemental: 16.6.2023–12.9.2023 (89 days)
Elementalthe only animated Disney film released in 2023, is the most relevant theatrical release compared to streaming Wish.
The problem is Wish has not been a box office success and at the same time Elemental didn’t break records, it also held steady at nearly $500 million worldwide at the box office.
This makes (roughly) 90 days theatrical to streaming hard to imagine being applicable Wishespecially when Elemental is the only recent film to do so.
One reason why Wish might release about 90 days after its Nov. 22 opening, as CEO Bob Iger is a bit against anything live-streaming and is trying to give theatrical releases more time to make money.
If it is published in the same region as Elemental it would make its Disney+ debut on Wednesday, February 20.
Due to its poor performance, Disney may adopt an accelerated strategy similar to animated films before 2023. A 70-day window seems reasonable. WishDisney+ premieres Wednesday, January 31.
Why Wish can do better on Disney+
There has been a slight shift in how audiences and viewers can consider a Disney movie a success. Ticket results have always been easy to see if fans were interested, but Disney+ has changed the game.
Disney’s decision to release four animated films directly to streaming (in part due to the pandemic) rewrote the playbook and set new expectations for families.
Meanwhile Elemental was an underdog to run at the box office after a slow start, it eventually became one “The biggest streaming hits in (Disney’s) history.”
There’s no reason why Wish can’t share similar results, as it could in every way be another big hit with kids, especially considering Disney’s animated films have a few catchy songs.
This is now an uphill battle created by Disney that the company will have to deal with over the next few years. The ease of use of Disney+ and the quick access to new movies make it difficult to get everyone back to the theaters.
For now, the company is licking its wounds Wish and set a strategic date for it to go live.
Wish is now playing in theaters worldwide.
