With the future of movie theaters still in a state of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney is reportedly reconsidering plans for some of its upcoming live-action remakes or reimaginings. As a result, Peter Pan and Wendy, Pinocchio, and Emma Stone’s Cruella may end up having their theatrical releases pulled in favor of a streaming premiere.
Pinocchio and Peter Pan and Wendy, respectively directed by Robert Zemeckis and David Lowery, will reimagine their animated counterpart films from the Golden Age of Disney animation. Disney’s Cruella, on the other hand, will be an origin film centered on a younger version of the titular villainess set before the events of One Hundred and One Dalmatians. All three projects had been greenlit and developed by Disney with a theatrical release in mind.
Deadline reports that while a final decision has yet to be made, the studio is now considering launching Peter Pan and Wendy, Pinocchio, and Cruella on Disney+ instead of releasing them in theaters. However, it is unclear if the trio of features would be offered free to Disney+ subscribers or if users would have to pay an additional premium fee, as was the case with the live-action remake of Mulan. According to the outlet’s sources, Disney is likely still intent on holding back its more prolific feature films for a theatrical release once the market recovers while focusing on television projects, including those from Marvel and Lucasfilm, for its streaming service at this time. Marvel Studios’ Black Widow, for example, is still not being considered for a streaming release.
The potential Disney+ debuts of Peter Pan and Wendy, Pinocchio, and Cruella are being considered as the company plans to focus its efforts on building its direct-to-consumer business model. While the 73.7 million subscribers count recently reached by Disney+ is still behind the roughly 195 million paying users of Netflix, Deadline sources say Disney stands to profit from both new subscriptions and the resulting rise in stock prices. The studio reportedly declined to comment on the matter.
Should Disney release the aforementioned live-action films on its streaming service, it wouldn’t be the only studio to acquiesce to the challenges presented by the pandemic. Warner Bros. recently opted to release Wonder Woman 1984 theatrically and through HBO Max on the same date, likely forfeiting a significant amount of profits.
Disney might also lose out on profits by releasing three of its remakes on Disney+ considering previous live-action retellings, including The Lion King and Aladdin, have earned over $1 billion worldwide. For instance, the Mulan remake was released theatrically in certain markets while also being available on Disney+ and didn’t fare nearly as well as its billion-dollar-grossing predecessors.
Cruella is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on May 28, 2021.
Source: Deadline
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