‘Eternals’ to debut exclusively in cinemas
Walt Disney Co said it will release Eternals, West Side Story and the rest of its 2021 films exclusively in theatres before sending them to streaming, a show of confidence that moviegoing will rebound.
The company had experimented during the pandemic with debuting some movies on the Disney+ streaming service at the same time they ran in theatres. Cinema operators have been closely watching how Disney, which has dominated movie box offices in recent years, would handle its upcoming slate as the Delta variant slowed audiences’ return to cinemas.
Disney said in a statement that animated musical Encanto will play in theatres for 30 days starting November 24 and head to Disney+ just before Christmas.
The film tells the story of a family who live in a magical house in the mountains of Colombia.
All other Disney releases, including Marvel movie Eternals in November and Steven Spielberg’s revival of West Side Story in December, will play exclusively in cinemas for at least 45 days, the company said.