Disney Investor is Urging The Company To Release BLACK WIDOW on Disney+

One of Disney’s top investors wants the company to by-bass theatrical releases for some of its big tent-pole films like Black Widow and start releasing them on the Disney+ streaming service as they did with Mulan and the upcoming Pixar film Soul.

Dan Loeb, a hedge fund manager for Third Point with roughly a $1 billion stake in the company explains that releasing high-profile films like Black Widow to Disney+ would attract new subscribers while also retaining its current customers. In an interview with Variety, he said:

"What Netflix has is this immense subscriber base that allows it to invest in an enormous amount of content and amortize that to get more subscribers. Disney isn't there yet, but they need to get there as quickly as possible. If they don't get critical mass in their subscriber base, they will be permanently disadvantaged versus Netflix."

Since launching Disney+, the service has surpassed 60 million subscribers. Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed the service reached its five-year goal in only eight months, putting the service ahead of a forecast predicting 200 million subscribers by 2025.

To help that number grow faster and get the streaming service closer to Netflix’s numbers which include 193 million paid subscribers, Loeb is urging Disney to release more of their tent-pole films on Disney+. He explains:

"My understanding is that the old-line executives don't want to go over the top with their big tentpole movies, which is why they announced they were pushing Black Widow and other movies to 2021. I don't think they appreciate the tiger they have by the tail, which is to say the value they can drive by moving into a subscription model, which has been adopted by everyone from Microsoft to Amazon. It's so value accretive."

Loeb goes on to predict that after the pandemic passes and theaters reopen, the movie theater experience will be more of a "novelty experience," saying the world is "going to go largely toward online distribution." You know… I hate to admit it, but he might be right.

There are some good points made here, and I know a lot of people that would be more than happy to see movies like Black Widow released on Disney+. I’m still for the theatrical experience because I love going to the movie theater to watch movies. Chapek previously said that Disney will continue theatrical releases despite its focus on streaming, saying:

"We've benefited from a tremendous relationship with theatrical exhibition for many, many, many years. As dynamics change in the marketplace, though, we want to make sure we're giving consumers, who want to go to theaters to experience everything that a theatrical release can give them, we want to continue to give them that option.”

What do you think about all this? Would you like to see Disney release Black Widow and other big movies meant for theaters on Disney+? Or are you happy to wait to see it in theaters?