The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Disney+ has decided to shift its original series release dates from Fridays to Wednesdays moving forward. When Loki's premiere date was shifted from June 11 to June 9, it felt like a fun PR stunt to raise awareness about the show and treat fans to the Marvel Studios series that little bit sooner.
However, following the news that Loki quickly became the streaming service's most-watched premiere, all future series will now also debut on a Wednesday instead of Friday.
An updated release schedule has been shared below, and this means other 2021 titles - like The Book of Boba Fett, What If?, and Hawkeye - will all also arrive mid-week.
According to the trade, "Sources say the shift is designed to accommodate the increased volume of original content on Disney+. The Wednesday schedule is strictly for original series - meaning The Mandalorian and other Star Wars and Marvel TV series; original movies will continue to bow on Fridays on the streamer."
So, no change for Black Widow then, but this also means movies like that will no longer have to compete with new episodes of Disney+'s TV shows on a Friday. Clearly, Disney is giving a great deal of thought to how they release titles on this service, something that makes sense both in the wake of the pandemic and now people are gravitating more towards streaming.
It also makes it less likely Disney+ shows will have to compete with new releases on the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple TV+.
Here's that updated release schedule:
- Monsters at Work from July 2 to July 7
- Turner & Hooch from July 16 to July 21
- Behind the Attraction from July 16 to July 21
- Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life from July 23 to July 28
- Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts from July 30 to July 28
- The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse batch 2 from July 30 to July 28
- Growing Up Animal from Aug. 20 to Aug. 18
- Short Circuit season two from July 30 to Aug. 4