You don’t need a wizard’s staff to summon Disney’s latest movie.
What you need to know
- With most theaters closed, Disney has decided to push Onward’s home release up.
- The films will be available for digital purchase today, and on April 3, Onward comes to Disney+ for the US.
- This marks the first Disney film to be significantly moved up for home release.
- No word on when Onward will be available for purchase/Disney+ in other countries yet.
Well, this was a bit of unexpected magic. Onward just hit theaters on March 6, two weeks ago today, and wasn’t expected to hit digital stores until sometime later this summer, but with most theaters closed for at least the rest of the spring, Disney’s moving up its home release. Onward will be available for digital purchase in the U.S. today with the film being able to stream starting at 8PM EDT — 5PM PST, for you best-coasters.
#PixarOnward is coming to the US tonight on digital download and will be streaming on #DisneyPlus on April 3rd. pic.twitter.com/W6TgB4kcAa
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) March 20, 2020
If you’re a Disney+ user that can hold off for another two weeks, though, Onward comes to Disney+ on April 3 in the U.S., following the early release of Frozen 2 last weekend. Unlike the Frozen release where international release was announced at the same time as the U.S, we don’t have a timetable for when the film will be available to buy or stream in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the Netherlands, to say nothing of when it may be launching in the eight European countries Disney+ launches in next week.
We also have no inkling yet if this marks the beginning of Disney adopting a similar strategy to Universal, who is making films available to rent while they’re in theaters — wherever theaters are still open right now amid the COVID-19 pandemic — but I wouldn’t hold my breath on this happening with Black Widow or the rest of Disney’s summer blockbusters.
The latest and greatest
Disney+
$7/month at Disney+
Get the latest Disney films and hundreds more!
If you’ve got a house full of bored kids to entertain, between playtime and improvised lesson plans, let them experience not only the latest Disney films like Frozen 2, but also hundreds of older films and TV shows from the Disney Vault, as well as educational content from National Geographic.
Coronavirus resources
- Coronavirus and tech: Ongoing list of event cancellations, disruptions, product delays, and more
- How to clean and disinfect your laptop the right way
- How to properly clean and disinfect your smartphone
- Keep tabs on coronavirus using Bing search
- How to easily make hand sanitizer at home when all the stores run out
- Hand sanitizer is still available via these online retailers
