Disney fans have been left furious by a decision to remove James Cameron's blockbuster Avatar from its streaming service, Disney+. The film has been available thanks to the studio's acquisition of Fox in 2020.
The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, is due to be released at the end of the year and fans are speculating that the decision to remove its predecessor is partly because of this. Though unconfirmed, it is believed that Avatar will be re-released in cinemas at the end of September.
If the move to take the film down is part of a push to get audiences into theatres, then fans are divided, with many furious. Others feel that it could be beneficial for theatres, which have been struggling post-pandemic.
Unlike Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ doesn't have a rotating catalogue where titles will be removed for a while and new ones added. Instead, everything is available to watch at any time, and a spokesman confirmed: "There will not be a 'rotating slate' of licensed movies each month".
But removing Avatar would not be the first time that Disney has made some of its titles disappear. Back in 2020, Dr Dolittle, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Home Alone and Home Alone 2, and The Sandlot were all taken down without notice.
Disney later confirmed that these were removed due to pre-existing contracts and licencing agreements. Some of these agreements are made years in advance, meaning that they were in place before the launch of Disney+.
Other deals made that will have a similar effect include a reported agreement between Netflix and Disney where every movie released between January 2016 and December 2018 will appear on the streaming service starting around 2026. It is likely that any possible deal to re-release Avatar in cinemas was made many years ago.
However, that doesn't stop fans from being furious at the idea. Taking to Twitter, one said: "Not for nothing but also surprised by the lack of chatter on here that Disney+ pulled Avatar to boost ticket sales for an upcoming theatrical re-release. Everything on streaming can go away at the flick of a switch!"
One user fumed: "So @disneyplus removed #Avatar. I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with its impending cinema re-release." While another added: “They want to force you to watch it in a THEATRE.”
However, some praised the idea of a cinema re-release saying that it would be great to get people back into cinemas. It comes as Cineworld is reportedly preparing to declare bankruptcy as it struggles to draw back audiences in the wake of the pandemic.
Disney has been approached for comment.
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