Hamilton is getting released a year early as a Disney Plus exclusive

Disney is bumping up the release of its recording of the hit stage musicalHamilton by over a year. Instead of the planned theatrical release set for October 15th, 2021, it’ll be out on July 3rd, 2020, as a Disney Plus exclusive.

It’s a huge move on Disney’s part. The company is effectively canceling its planned theatrical run for the Hamiltonrecording — which it reportedly paid a record-breaking $75 million for the worldwide rights to — to turn it into a streaming exclusive instead.

It’s only a matter of time...

Our Hamilton film. 
THIS July 3rd. 
On Disney+.#Hamilfilmpic.twitter.com/cXTM949hRr

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 12, 2020

 The move from theatrical to digital also emphasizes just how much Disney needs content to put on Disney Plus now to keep customers interested in paying that $6.99-per-month subscription. Suspended production on some of its most hyped original shows (like Marvel Studios-produced Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki) means it’s unlikely that any of those original shows will debut in 2020. And with the new major Disney Plus original — the second season of The Mandalorian — not set to premiere until October, Disney needed a big win like Hamilton to keep current subscribers on board and to attract new ones.

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