Why Avatar 2 won't stream on Disney+ before April 2023

Avatar 2 has been running in theaters for almost three months and has created numerous records throughout its tenure. After becoming the third highest-grossing movie of all time, it is still going fairly strong. It took the rest of Hollywood 11 weekends to knock it out of the top 5 domestic movies chart. Even then, The Way of Water stood strong last weekend, grossing $3.6 million.

With a current total of $671 million, it is on track to grab the number 7 spot in the domestic charts as Titanic ($674 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($678 million) are very much within its reach. But there isn’t much time left for Avatar 2 to do so because it is set for a digital home video release. However, many fans have been asking why it isn’t getting a Disney+ streaming release.

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Avatar 2 to get a digital release on March 28, but fans will have to wait for a Disney+ release

Avatar 2 box office (Image via Sportskeeda)

Disney has officially announced that The Way of Water will be up for digital release on Tuesday, March 28. It will be available for rent with over three hours of never-before-seen bonus content on all major digital retailers, including Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, and Movies Anywhere.

In recent times, most movies don’t get such a long run in theaters. The initial window of a streaming release used to be around 90 days, but now studios are settling somewhere between 60-70 days. In case a movie doesn’t make as much money theatrically, it gets a streaming release within 45 days.

Looking at the last few releases, Thor: Love and Thunder was released on Disney+ after 62 days, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was launched after 82 days. But unlike most previous Disney movies, Avatar 2 isn’t following the norm. It isn’t even getting a simultaneous Disney+ release on March 28.

Jake Sully's family in Avatar: The Way of Water (Image via 20th Century Studios)

Initially, many presumed that since Avatar: The Way of Water is a Disney-owned movie, it will soon arrive on Disney+. But people quickly pointed out that it falls under Disney’s acquired wing of 20th Century Studios (previously 20th Century Fox). And because of a previous contractual obligation, none of the 20th Century Studios films get direct to Disney+ streaming release.

They get a shared streaming release with HBO Max and come out either on Hulu or Disney+. Since Avatar 2 is a hot property for Disney, the company will make sure it is available to stream on Disney+ eventually. But that won’t happen for the next couple of months for another reason.

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Disney is allowing Avatar 2 to thrive at the theaters

Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar 2 (Image via Sportskeeda)

Before the rise of streaming services, Hollywood thrived by making a lot of money over digital and Blu-Ray releases. Even in 2022, Top Gun: Maverick was allowed to play in theaters for 88 days to make as much money as possible. Ultimately, the movie ended up making $1.493 billion worldwide.

After that, Paramount released the film on Digital and eventually on Blu-Ray, and waited for 121 more days (209 days in total) before releasing Maverick on Paramount+. This is a pattern that Disney is also following.

Avatar 2 currently stands at $2.284 billion in total, and Disney is allowing it to go through three more weekends to make as much money as it can with its theatrical run. But once the movie is available on Digital from March 28, it will eventually get its Blu-Ray release sometime in April or May.

Eventually, it will be released on Disney+ (but maybe after 2-3 more months). If fans are lucky, Disney could make it available for streaming on Disney+ in April. So, we should be prepared for Avatar: The Way of Water to release on Disney+ any day between April and early July.