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- Sam Favate
VOD for Onward is today.
Disney+ on April 3.
No word on the blu-ray.
Disney+ on April 3.
No word on the blu-ray.
Sigh.
I know I predicted this, but I have to say I'm still disappointed.
I was really hoping Disney would relaunch Onward in theaters whenever the virus is contained. It's too good of a movie to have its run cut so short and I was hoping that more people would be able to see It in the theatrical environment.
Disney probably decided that it wasn't worth the money to do that and they'd rather just use it as a Disney+ driver.
I do hope the Blu-ray comes along soon though. I am still keeping my steelbook preorder.
I don't think people in July are gonna say "hey, let's go watch that movie we weren't that interested in 4 months ago!"
People were already getting nervous on the weekend of March 6 (my state shut down places on March 12) so they didn't come out like they normally would have. If Onward and Frozen II had been flip flopped, Onward would have made a boatload at Thanksgiving.I reject the notion that people weren't interested in it. We don't know what it would have done throughout the remainder of a traditional theatrical run because it didn't have one. Yes, it had a low opening for Pixar...
People were already getting nervous on the weekend of March 6 (my state shut down places on March 12) so they didn't come out like they normally would have.
I reject the notion that people weren't interested in it. We don't know what it would have done throughout the remainder of a traditional theatrical run because it didn't have one. Yes, it had a low opening for Pixar, but Coco opened art a similar level and ended up a big hit because people found it over time and it was able to develop legs. Onward might have done the same thing if it had been able to stay in theaters longer.
I think "Onward" would've ended up with a box office profile closer to that of "Good Dinosaur" than "Coco"...
This is all purely hypothetical. I'll contend that the reviews weren't Pixar's best, but the word of mouth was good. It got an A- Cinemascore and had a wide-open playing period in terms of family films. The next thing on the schedule for that bracket of the market was Trolls. When I saw the sneak preview on Leap Day, it was packed and the reaction was through the roof. I absolutely think it would have had a long and leggy run under normal circumstances.
But that's all over now. Disney did what they did and there's no taking it back now that the switch has been flipped on the digital release. The theaters won't agree to have it back when they reopen now even if Disney did want to reissue it. They'll move onto Soul as soon as they can and Onward will just be Pixar's lost theatrical release.
I just hope they don't do something crazy like cancel the release of the steelbook, which I pre-ordered from Best Buy as soon as it went up. They have removed the artwork for it, but not the product listing, and my purchase is still listed as pending. Even though it will be on Disney+ before the disc, I am still happy to buy the fancy edition of this.
I think the movie is absolutely extraordinary from beginning to end and I hope it finds Its audience on home platforms. I think people who found it elsewhere will look back on it and wish they'd been able to see it in a theater. I am certainly very glad I got to have that experience twice, and I would have gone again if the run had not been cut short by all of this craziness.
I do think your affection for the movie impacts your opinion, though.
Insomuch as I love the film and therefore believe in its ability to attract audiences, yes. But I don't think that makes it impossible for me to judge the possible results of the film.
Also, my reaction to a film has very little to do with public perception of it. If I were the arbiter of a movie's success, The Rise of Skywalker would have collapsed after the opening night, but it obviously had a very successful run.
I would have gone to see it, but Covid-19 made me decide not to risk a theater viewing
I absolutely think you made the right decision. However, I think it's too bad that the film landed in this release environment in the first place.
If Disney knew two weeks ago when they launched the film that the theatrical marketplace was about to collapse, they would have delayed the film as they have done for Mulan and Black Widow. I'm glad I got to see it with my friend, because I rarely have that opportunity, but in retrospect would have been better for the film to be delayed.
Oh well.
At least you were able to catch a theatrical viewing the way the film was meant to be seen. That was a good thing. I'll have to see it when it comes out on D+ which is a bit of drag, but better that than possibly coming down with something that could be fatal.
Oh, absolutely. I would not encourage anyone to seek it out in a theater at this point, if there are even theaters still open. And I am glad I got to see it in one. But I just feel bad for all the people who worked on it for so long with the expectation that it would play a normal theatrical run to see it get caught up in this mess. I can't imagine what that must be like.
Disney should announce that it WILL get a normal theatrical run after all of this coronavirus mess is over. That would be fair to the Pixar people who worked so hard on the film. It would be fair to those of us who appreciate quality animation. And there are usually any number of stinkers that could be booted out of theaters to make way for a delayed "Onward", if that was what it took to secure seats for a delayed showing.
Yep. I wish they would put it back in theaters but once it's available for streaming and digital download, I think that ship has sailed."Normal theatrical run" meaning back on some screens or back on 4000+?
I can see they might put it back out on limited screens - like maybe 1000 - but it'd be insane for them to try to restart it like it's a true new release when it's already been available for home viewing...