As the coronavirus pandemic has forced studios to postpone movie releases and stop production on new projects, the Walt Disney Company finally had a bit of good news to announce late Friday night. Frozen 2 will be available to stream on Disney+ starting on Sunday, three months before the film was originally scheduled to be added to the streaming service. The move also comes a little over two weeks after the film was released on Blu-ray on Feb. 25.
“Frozen 2 has captivated audiences around the world through its powerful themes of perseverance and the importance of family, messages that are incredibly relevant during this time, and we are pleased to be able to share this heartwarming story early with our Disney+ subscribers to enjoy at home on any device,” new Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement.
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Frozen 2 will also be available on Disney+ Tuesday in Canada, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, the film will only be available in high definition in the U.S. until Tuesday, when the Ultra HD stream will also be made available.
Frozen 2 was not the only gift Disney gave fans on Friday to help them better entertain themselves while self-quarantining. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was made available to purchase or rent on digital platforms, including iTunes, Vudu, Xfinity and FandangoNOW. The film was originally not scheduled to be available digitally until Tuesday, with the physical Blu-ray and 4K UHD release following on March 31. It is expected to be available for Disney+ users later this year.
Although Frozen 2 was not quite the cultural phenomenon the original 2013 film was, Frozen 2 was a financial success for Disney after its Nov. 22 release. The movie grossed $1.4 billion worldwide, beating the original’s $1.2 billion gross. Frozen 2 is also the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, behind Disney’s 2019 remake of The Lion King, which pulled in $1.6 billion last year.
Frozen 2 was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar for Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s “Into The Unknown.” The film also brought back most of the creative team from the original film, including directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, and actors Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Jonathan Groff. Other members of the cast include Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Jason Ritter, Martha Plimpton, Ciaran Hinds and Alan Tudyk.
Disney has been forced to close both Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Disney World parks will close Sunday, while Disneyland’s last day open was Saturday. The two resorts will remain closed until the end of the month.
On Friday, Disney announced production on The Last Duel, Peter Pan & Wendy, the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids sequel, Nightmare Alley and The Little Mermaid has been postponed. The releases of Mulan, New Mutants and Antlers were all postponed indefinitely.
“While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.”
