Should I Watch Disney Stock Following Successful Disney+ Release?

Disney+ subscriber growth has been a concern for investors over the past month. 

This article was originally written by MyWallSt. Read more insights from the MyWallSt team here.

However, the company’s latest theatrical release has garnered millions of dollars, and Disney wants to tell the world.

How much did ‘Black Widow’ earn at the box office? 

$80 million domestically and $78 million internationally over the weekend, easily claiming the crown of the pandemic-era box office.

But, while these are good figures for Disney’s first Marvel flick since 2019, there’s another number to look at:

$60 million. 

That’s how much Disney claims to have brought in through its Premier Access feature of the movie on Disney+, which allows subscribers to rent the movie at home rather than going to the cinema. And this is despite more than 80% of U.S. cinemas being fully reopened this weekend. 

It’s the first time any streaming service has announced such stats and is a massive feather in Disney’s already very plumed cap. It proves that Disney+ can be a viable source of income when it comes to cinematic releases and offers some protection from outright cinema closures in the future. 

Of course, not all films will be available on Premier Access, such as Marvel’s upcoming ‘Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings’, because Disney must maintain theatrical partnership contracts, and may also be restricted by streaming licenses in certain regions. More importantly, as has been evidenced, there’s more money to be made in theatrical releases.

The post-COVID, hybrid economy is still very unclear to consumers and economists alike, so it’s too early to say whether Disney can employ this multi-platform release strategy once the population is fully vaccinated and life returns to ‘normal’. 

If nothing else though, it further proves that Disney can adapt to almost any situation and turn lemons into lemonade when it needs to.