“Red Alert” and “Luca”, two Pixar films initially reserved for streaming, will be released in theaters in France

The two feature films will be entitled to “500 exceptional screenings throughout France” next February and April.

Disney announced Friday January 19 that it would release “for the first time in the cinema” his animated films Red alert And Lucasan about-face for the firm after having preferred an online release on its streaming platform to a theatrical release.

The two feature films from its subsidiary Pixar will be entitled to “500 exceptional sessions throughout France”the day of February 18 for Alert red and that of April 14 for Lucaseach time during school holidays.

Strategic turnaround

This announcement is symbolic: none of these films were released in France, because Disney had chosen to reserve them for subscribers to its paid platform Disney+, by putting them directly online in 2021 and 2022. At the time, the studios were hijacked cinemas, preferring to favor their streaming services to attract subscribers.

Cinemas, where films can garner incommensurable amounts of revenue, have since come back into favor and Disney is once again offering its Pixar animated feature films there, such as Buzz Lightning And Elementaryreleased over the past two summers.

In France, Disney’s refusal to release certain films in theaters also reflected the American firm’s dissatisfaction with the media chronology, which regulates release dates in cinemas then on the small screen, to protect the 7th art and the tricolor rooms.