Disney is aiming for a longer theatrical window for animated releases in hopes of luring families back to the movies

These have been strange years for movies, theaters, streaming services, and studio-created content. As we plunged into the pandemic in 2020, theaters closed and we began consuming an unprecedented amount of streaming content. It was a great treat when movies and shows made their on-demand debuts in 2020 and 2021, as we weren’t quite back to our old viewing habits yet. And even now, some have been slower to return to the theater, some not at all. This was reflected in Disney animated films released in 2022, Pixar Light year underperformed and Disney Animation Strange world directly bombed. Enchantment it seemed to hold its own, but Disney is still looking closely at their release strategy to see how their numbers can be improved.

In a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter, the outlet reports that Disney is looking at a two-pronged strategy moving forward. One is that they just announced three new $1 billion brand sequels – History of the toy, Frozen AND Zootopiawhich is sure to bring fans back to the seats, and besides, there are talks of longer movie windows for Elementary (June 16) and Disney Animation’s Wish (November 22) in hopes of attracting families to cinemas.

The longer theatrical release means the longer people will have to wait for these new titles to appear on Disney+. While we’ve been treated to Disney+’s quick turnarounds in recent years, the studio will be pushing those dates further back in hopes of getting the best revenue from theater ticket sales.

We are a cinema family so we like to go see the latest Disney and Marvel films on the big screen but this is a bit of a shame for families with limited funds or mobility issues. Hopefully there will be a happy medium, like maybe the movies will still be available for rental soon after they hit theaters.

Whatever seems to be going on, I’m just happy to see the movies back on the big screen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have tickets to go see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania!