Disney + And The Murky Future Of Film Releases
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
I’ll keep it brief for your Friday morning, afternoon, or evening. Disney has revealed that they intend on having any of their new releases go straight to their streaming platform (Disney +), which means that theatrical releases are forgone. This has resulted in some backlash, including from Disney employees (animators who have worked on films like the upcoming Luka, for instance). Of course, this is already not great for those who want to see these films right now, and it looks awful when it comes to the state of the cinema industry (considering there hasn’t been much of a chance for recovery for theatre chains during the pandemic, unfortunately). With vaccinations being distributed and a hope to overcome this pandemic in sight, we can only hope that the time to turn things around will arise soon.
What about the long term game? Will Disney’s actions hurt the entire industry? Of course, it’s too early to say, but I personally find the near future will hopefully be okay. Once we can, I think we can go back to theatres — especially for local or independent films, and for the goings-on of cinematheques — and that will start to spark life back into the industry. Of course, Disney owns a number of properties, so if they decide to have all of their films go straight to streaming, that could be a very harmful choice for theatres (that cuts out Marvel, Star Wars, and other major crowd drawing titles). As well, other studios might follow suit. Warner Bros. currently intends on having films show in theatres before going to streaming, but they may change this strategy if they see fit.
Regardless of what happens with the major studios, I still fear for the distant future of cinemas. Of course, a return to theatres will help for now, but will they solve all of the major problems cinemas have been facing (especially with attendances)? Movie theatres were already suffering a major hit before the pandemic; now, many cinema chains are in the red. Times aren’t looking great. I know, however, that there are people like me who want to go to the theatres to see films, and that will never change. Will our desires be met? Maybe for now, and I hope they continue to for good. Who knows after this massive hit the industry has faced, sadly. I can only hope for the best, but I do fear the prognostications of Disney, who has always been on top of the customer service game. Say what you want about their conglomerate practices, but there isn’t too much to complain about when it comes to their ability to know what works and what doesn’t (outside of their string of terrible live action films, perhaps). This bothers me greatly; Disney might not be trying to set a precedent, but instead are gearing up for the inevitable. The cinephile side of me doesn’t want this to be true. The realist in me says “Who knows”.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.