Disney Sending ‘Luca,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red’ to Theaters in 2024 to Boost Box Office, Make Up for Strike Delays

The solidarity displayed by striking actors and writers in Hollywood this year was truly impressive. Standing up to multi-billion dollar corporations, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA both secured deals with concessions that outside observers thought they’d never get, and even now studios like Disney are back at work trying to get new scripted TV and movies produced.

• Disney is putting three already-released Pixar movies into theaters in early 2024: “Luca,” “Soul” and “Turning Red.”
• The releases could help Disney improve on a dismal 2023 box office, and assuage viewers angered by strike-induced release delays of other movies.
• The three Pixar films can be streamed on-demand any time with a subscription to Disney+.

When Can You See ‘Luca,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red’ in Theaters Again?

Audiences who supported striking actors and writers are glad to see the gains they achieved from a historical work stoppage, but now the real-world consequences must be grappled with. In Disney’s case, this means bumping the release dates of movies that could not keep to their original production schedules, like “Deadpool 3,” “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

There were also financial consequences of the strikes for Disney, whose balance sheet is suffering enough as it is. The company has not seen a movie cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office in 2023, marking the first time in 2014 it hasn’t seen a film hit that benchmark. In 2019, by contrast, Disney had seven movies gross $1 billion. Its streaming services Disney+ and Hulu are narrowing their losses, but still lose the company millions of dollars every quarter.

Those points go a long way toward explaining why Disney has announced that three Pixar movies — “Luca,” “Soul” and “Turning Red” — are coming to theaters in early 2024. “Soul” comes first on Jan. 12, followed by “Turning Red” on Feb. 9 and “Luca” on March 22.

“Soul” and “Luca” were released in 2020 and 2021 respectively, right in the midst of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were direct-to-streaming titles, as was “Turning Red,” and each garnered enough critical success that the company feels a theatrical release is warranted, particularly in light of its weak 2023 box office.

Can You Stream ‘Luca,’ ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red’ Now?

Users who don’t want to wait for the theatrical releases of these Pixar films to watch them can see them whenever they want! All three are available to stream with a Disney+ subscription, which users can get for as little as $7.99 per month if they don’t mind limited commercial interruptions. Check out the movies below, and stream all three on Disney+ whenever you’d like!