Disney’s expansion of the “Toy Story” universe did not take off at the box office in the way that the company likely envisioned. To date, Pixar’s “Lightyear” has grossed a respectable, but underwhelming, $213.4 million at the global box office and $115.6M domestically, placing it behind all of the previous “Toy Story” films even before adjusting for inflation.
However, now the Chris Evans-voiced space ranger will be blasting off to infinity and a streaming service near you as Disney+ announced on Tuesday that “Lightyear” would be coming to the streamer on Wednesday, Aug. 3.
Get ready to blast off with Disney and Pixar’s #Lightyear streaming August 3 only on @DisneyPlus. 🚀💫 pic.twitter.com/5M3IFMTrFW
— Disney (@Disney) July 19, 2022
“’Lightyear’ looks amazing on the big screen, of course, but we are so excited to bring it to Disney+,” the film’s director Angus MacLane said. “We devoted years of our lives to this film and we are so proud of it. We want to share it with as many people as possible. Disney+ not only gives more fans an opportunity to see ‘Lightyear,’ it gives us all the means to see it again and again.”
The release date means that the animated film will be landing on streaming just 47 days after premiering on the big screen, which we thought was a distinct possibility when the film initially debuted. As the shift towards streaming has become increasingly important for large media companies, the windows between theatrical and streaming releases has shortened to the point where 45 days is now considered the default by many studios.
The month-and-a-half turnaround for “Lightyear” continues the trend seen with one of Disney’s other major recent releases, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” The genre-bending Marvel movie arrived on Disney+ on June 22, also 47 days after it debuted in theaters.
Despite recent animated box office successes — including “Minions: The Rise of Gru” — “Lightyear” was underwhelming for Disney, especially considering how well the “Toy Story” films have fared in the past. However, the movie was the first Pixar film to debut in theaters since a week before the pandemic shutdowns began rolling out in March 2020.
Lightyear
Legendary Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear embarks on an intergalactic adventure alongside a group of ambitious recruits and his robot companion Sox.
Because of that, there had been concerns from inside the studio about how Disney has been handling Pixar’s recent releases, especially when it comes to streaming. While “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red” have all been hits with critics and audiences alike, they all debuted on Disney+, forgoing big screen runs. The last Pixar film to debut in theaters was “Onward” which was released in early March 2020, just before COVID-19 began shutting down theaters.
Because of that, many had hoped that “Lightyear” would boost the venerated animation house back to a place of prominence within the Disney pecking order. However, despite the lagging box office receipts, “Lightyear” seems destined to be a favorite on Disney+ where it can live alongside its franchise siblings and fans can compare and contrast Chris Evans and Tim Allen’s performances until infinity… and beyond.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”