With the coronavirus outbreak essentially shutting down much of the world, including movie theaters, Disney is releasing another one of its feature films early digitally. Pixar's Onward, which arrived in theaters on March 6, will be available to buy digital and on Movies Anywhere for $19.99 today at 5:00 p.m. PST. It will be released on the Disney+ streaming service on April 3.
The fantasy adventure, starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, opened to a modest $40 million domestically. It was enough to top the charts on its opening weekend, but an overall lackluster performance for the latest in the Mickey Mouse movie machine. Onward currently sits at $103 million at the worldwide box office ($61.5M domestic, $41.5M international). However, with no timeframe as to when theaters will re-open, it might have better success digitally.
“While we’re looking forward to audiences enjoying our films on the big screen again soon, given the current circumstances, we are pleased to release this fun, adventurous film to digital platforms early for audiences to enjoy from the comfort of their homes,” said director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae.
Onward is the latest Disney film to release early digitally. Earlier this month, Frozen 2, Walt Disney Animation's blockbuster sequel, arrived on Disney+ three months earlier than expected. It had already earned $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.