Soul is currently set to be released on June 19th but with the ever growing COVID-19 pandemic causing a slew of film delays, how will Soul hold up? Because it's very hard to predict how COVID-19 will ultimately play out there'll be certain things that will, and will not, be in Disney's control. Also since their last animated film Onward reportedly lost around $100M due to Coronavirus shutting down all theaters, Disney definitely doesn't want to risk anything that would equate to them losing more money on their next film. Here's a breakdown of all the possible ways the film will be released: Sticking to the original release With Soul's release still two and a half months away there is a possibility of theaters being open. If it was certain all would be good by June 19th then Disney would gladly not deal with another calendar shakeup and stick to the initial release. But the odds of that happening are slim. Since even if the theaters are open, they'll most likely be some social distancing rules implemented at first which would effect how many people can be in a certain showing at once. Therefore it would hinder how much money the film could make and surely Disney (and every studio) would want the best odds to make the most money. It's clear though Disney is holding out hope that Soul can retain it's June 19th release date as last week they announced a bunch of date changes for their other films from Black Widow, to Jungle Cruise, but no mention of Soul. I also want to note that it seems as though Soul has already finished it's production or else it would have certainly got delayed. Just like Minions 2 (a Universal film) was set for July 2nd but because of the Coronavirus Universal had to delay it as they couldn't finish the movie in time for release even if theaters are open. Disney+ and VOD release If Soul is unable to release in theaters on it's initial date then I'm sure lots of fans will be lobbying for an at home release. If that were to happen then it would mostly likely go the same route as Onward which was a two week period where you could buy the film digitally (on platforms like iTunes) then it released on Disney+. Bob Iger recently spoke with Barron's about what future Disney films could possibly shift from a theater release to a direct Disney+ release. "In terms of movies going ahead after Artemis, there may be a few more that we end up putting directly onto Disney+, but for the most part a lot of the big tentpole Disney films, we’ll simply wait for slots. In some cases we’ve announced new ones already, but later on in the calendar." This doesn't directly say whether or not Soul fits into the 'big tentpole' type film description but since it's budget is $150M - $200M I'd say it is and with that it's less likely to go straight to streaming. Plus the film is being directed by Pixar CCO Pete Docter who’s previous directorial work includes huge hits like Monsters Inc, Up, and Inside Out. With top Pixar personnel spearheading the project it’s more likely for Disney to veer away from a direct home release. On the contrary though, as mentioned earlier Disney didn't update Soul's release date along with all their other upcoming films last week. Maybe that's because Disney figured they would either ride it out with the June 19th date or back out of the theater release all together (if theaters can't be open in June) and go to Disney+ while the film is still fresh on peoples minds. Delaying the release Delaying Soul's theatrical release to another time where it could be in theaters without the distraction of COVID-19 is what I believe to be the most likely situation. This would come as a bummer to most people excited for the film (definitely including myself) but once I explain the ideal situation it's really not that bad. This is also logically what Disney would most likely do if they decided to move back Soul's release. Currently Disney's third animated film of the year Raya and the Last Dragon is set for a November 25th, 2020 release. I would see Soul taking that November spot and then Disney moves Raya to back to 2021. This would actually work pretty well as unlike this year, in 2021 Disney only has 2 animated films releasing, one in June and one in November. In 2020 Disney has three with the added March release (Onward) but with no March date for 2021 Disney could perfectly shift Raya and the Last Dragon just a few months back. March 12th, 2021 would be the prime date for Raya and like I mentioned earlier it really wouldn't effect their release schedule in the long run. Soul moves to November 25th, 2020 and therefore gives Raya a few extra months to work on the film which certainly doesn't hurt. Also from a marketing standpoint Disney hasn't invested a ton into Soul just yet. Marketing is a big cost expense and as a film gets closer to it's release the marketing ramps up. So expect Disney to officially announce it's plans for Soul in the next month or so since they aren't going to want spend a lot of money to promote a June release just for it to get delayed. Like all Disney animated films they release one teaser plus two trailers before the films release. Well for Soul they haven't released the second trailer yet so they could easily hold off on that if they delay it to November and have that last trailer be a final marketing push. When do you think Soul will be release? How excited are you for Soul? Let us know! Make sure to stay up to date with everything going on in Disney news, right here at Magic Mania! We hope to see you real soon! Oh, and one more thing... have a Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Day.
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