Disney 2021 Films to Debut Exclusively in Cinemas

The remainder of Disney’s 2021 film releases are going to debut exclusively in cinemas, the entertainment giant said on Saturday.

Movies including Marvel’s Eternals, Sir Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake will arrive in theatres for a 45-day window before being made available on digital platforms.

This decision hands a boost to the beleaguered cinema industry, which has struggled to entice fans back inside amid fears over the more transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19.

Astonishingly, it comes on the heels of the success of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings – the first Marvel film to launch exclusively in theatres in more than two years. The superhero movie has achieved more than $166m (£120m) globally which is one of the best pandemic-era performances at the box office.

In August, Disney CEO Bob Chapek described the 45-day cinema exclusive release of Shang-Chi as “an interesting experiment for us”.

While Eternals, The Last Duel and West Side Story will all have a 45-day window, animated musical Encanto will play in theatres for 30 days upon its release in November, before arriving on the Disney+ streaming service.

Disney had been experimenting with simultaneous theatre and streaming releases for some of its biggest films during the pandemic, notably Marvel’s Black Widow and origins story Cruella.