Can you watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Disney+?
By Dan Selcke
Since the coronavirus pandemic set in, various movie studios have tried ways to get their movies out to the public at a time when many don’t want to go to the theaters. Warner Bros. has made its entire 2021 slate of movies available to watch on its HBO Max streaming service for no extra fee beyond the subscription price. Disney, meanwhile, has made several movies — including Mulan, Soul and Black Widow — accessible through Disney+, but for an extra $30 fee.
Both studios have gotten pushback for these decisions from the people who worked on the movie, who for one reason or another would prefer their films appear only in theaters. Disney got hit particularly hard when Black Widow star Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for tens of millions of dollars, claiming that by releasing the movie on Disney+ she lost out on shares of box office revenue she was due under her contract.
Perhaps in reaction to stuff like this, Disney won’t be releasing its Marvel new movie, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, on Disney+. The movie opened this weekend, and for now, it can only be seen in theaters.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings isn’t on Disney+
Disney CEO Bob Chapek has called this released strategy for Shang-Chi “an interesting experiment.” At the moment, the next big Marvel movie — Eternals — is also set to come out only in theaters, but Disney is reserving the right to change its mind. “[J]ust to reiterate, distribution decisions are made on a film-by-film basis,” Chapek said. “We will continue to utilize all options going forward. Obviously, this world has been disrupted by COVID and we are all reacting to a very fluid situation.”
With cases and deaths on the rise again thanks to the Delta variant, I wouldn’t be shocked if Disney pivots back sometime soon.
Next. Shang-Chi star Simu Liu really wants to be in an Avengers movie. dark
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