Update, Saturday, March 14, 2020: The Walt Disney Company has announced it is releasing Frozen 2 on Disney+ three months ahead of schedule amid the coronavirus pandemic so families can enjoy the movie while they stay at home.
"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," said Bob Chapek, Walt Disney Company CEO, in a press release.
The movie will be available on Disney+ in the U.S. beginning March 15. Internationally, it will be available on Disney+ in Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand beginning March 17.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
This article was originally published on November 27, 2019.
Since Disney+ launched two weeks ago, fans of all ages have been excited to rewatch their favourite movies and shows of Disney past and present. Of course, one of those movies is Frozen, 2013’s animated Academy Award winner. And with the sequel now in theaters, many people who just splurged on their new streaming subscription are wondering: when will they be able to watch Anna’s and Elsa’s adventures continue on their computer screens?
Unfortunately, not for awhile. Disney has historically waited seven months to bring each theatrical release to streaming services, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, the company has no plans on changing that wait time, even with its shiny new app. Of course, the film will definitely go up on Disney+ after those seven months, meaning we can expect it sometime around late June 2020.
But if the box office statistics are any indication, Frozen 2 might be worth getting off your couch and heading to the theaters. On Monday alone, the film grossed $13.1 million USD in one day, beating out Hunger Games: Catching Fire for best November Monday. Industry experts expect the film to rake in $200 million USD by Thanksgiving, Deadline reported.
The Disney sequel is much darker than the original film. Jennifer Lee, Frozen II’s co-director and head of animation at Disney, told Refinery29 that this was an intentional decision. “The big one, for us, is wanting to take someone like Anna to a hopeless place so you can see her survive and know in those hopeless moments, that all you have to do is not give up,” Lee said. “And we knew in order to do that, we would have to feel her loss.”
COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic. Go to the Public Health Agency of Canada website for the latest information on symptoms, prevention, and other resources.