Strange World Disney+ Hotstar release date set for December 23rd

Strange World will be released on December 23 on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, the company announced in a tweet. Disney’s latest animated adventure, set on a dynamic Dr. Seuss-like planet, comes just 29 days after its world premiere on Nov. 25. It’s a new low for a Disney animated film — less than a month — since the studio put in place a one-day window before any theatrical release becomes available for streaming. With a reported budget of $180 million (approx. Rs. 1,488 crore), Strange World only managed to raise a worldwide total of $53.5 million (approx. Rs. 442 crore), indicating that Disney is faced with a huge loss.

That said, that narrowed window has been significant with recent Disney animated movies, including the Oscar-winning movie Encanto, which hit the streaming service 30 days after hitting theaters on November 24 this year. last in the United States, or 28 days after its November 26 release in India. Whereas, Turning Red, the first Pixar film to be directed solely by a woman, Domee Shi, has moved from a planned theatrical release to streaming, due to the upsurge in COVID-19 Omicron cases. Strange World’s case isn’t helped by the fact that Disney is looking for a streaming Christmas drop.

While it had a star-studded cast, headlined by the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Dennis Quaid (Footloose), Disney’s marketing campaign for Strange World never expanded on the story or its characters. The company only made sure to raise awareness that one of its main characters, Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), was openly gay – marking a first for the studio. Last month, as Bob Iger hosted a company-wide meeting after his return as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, he was asked about the studio’s stance on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Reports suggest the company was caught giving nearly $200,000 (around Rs 1.65 crore) to politicians in Florida, who passed a state bill to stop teachers from discussing the said topics.

“One of the core values ​​of our storytelling is inclusion, acceptance and tolerance. And we can’t lose that, we just can’t lose that…the way we actually change the world for good must continue. We’re not going to make everyone happy all the time, and we’re not going to [going to] Try. We’re definitely not going to diminish our core values ​​in order to make everyone happy all the time,” Iger said during the reunion (via Variety).

Disney’s Strange World follows the Clades, a legendary family of explorers, who are invited to a vibrant planet to save the world from “grave danger”. Upon reaching the uncharted, rose-tinted world, however – whose waters can dissolve flesh from bone – Searcher Clade (Gyllenhaal) meets his long-lost heroic father Jaeger Clade (Quaid), sparking family drama, with occasional breaks for fight ravenous creatures. The film also features the voices of Gabrielle Union and Lucy Liu.

Strange World arrives December 23 on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar wherever available.

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