Major 2021 Disney Movie to Air Free on ABC This Weekend

Disney is airing one of its more recent blockbuster movies on ABC for free on Sunday night. The 2021 live-action film Cruella will begin at 8 p.m. ET on the Disney-owned TV station. It will be the perfect time for those who missed it to catch up, and perhaps for new fans to find it for the first time.

Cruella stars Emma Stone as Estella Miller – a young woman who grows to become Cruella de Vil in this prequel to 101 Dalmations. The movie was written by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara and directed by Craig Gillespie. It premiered in May of 2021 after some delays, and was available simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access. Like all movies released in 2020 and 2021, its box office performance was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Cruella did reasonably well for the time. It has reportedly earned a total of $233.5 million at the time of this writing against a $100 million budget.

That may make it surprising for some viewers to see such a recent movie on broadcast TV. These days, studios tend to hold movies back from TV or even cable until other venues have been exhausted. They can charge licensing fees to place movies on streaming services – either their own or somewhere else – and exclusivity can help to raise their perceived value. In this case, Cruella is currently streaming on Disney+ but is also available to rent or purchase on digital stores. At the time of this writing the movie is even on sale on Prime Video.

Cruella is not just playing on ABC on its own – it is part of a programming block called The Wonderful World of Disney Movie Night. The network has been airing family-oriented Disney movies on Sunday nights every weekend at 8 p.m. ET and trying to entice viewers with the livestream on the ABC app as well. The event has been largely Halloween-oriented, and as a villain origin story, Cruella fits the theme.

Those that want to tune in can catch Cruella at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, on the livestream on ABC.com, or on the ABC app on mobile devices or smart TVs. If you want to find the movie on your own time, it is available to stream on Disney+, or to rent or purchase on digital stores.