In February, Lin-Manuel Miranda broke the news that Disney (DIS) had purchased the rights to a filmed version of the Broadway mega hit “Hamilton” and would release it in theaters in October 2021. Disney paid $ 75 million, probably the most expensive ever bought a finished film, and Disney had high hopes that it would be a box office hit with Americans who had never been able to see the musical in person.
Then the pandemic struck. With theaters closed, Disney saw an opportunity to attract subscribers to its new Disney + streaming service; put “Hamilton” on the platform on July 3.
Now it seems like that was the right move.
Sensor Tower, an app download research firm, tells Yahoo Finance that during the week of June 29-July 5, Disney + experienced a 64% increase in downloads compared to the previous week.
Apptopia, a review firm, tells Variety that over the weekend of the release of “Hamilton,” Disney + experienced a 72% increase in downloads compared to the weekend average of the four weekends. previous.
Lin-Manuel Miranda makes a surprise appearance during a question and answer session before the Rockefeller Foundation and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History sponsored morning student #EduHam at the “Hamilton” performance at the Richard Rodgers Theater on the 20th / 03/2019 in New York City. (Photo by Walter McBride / Getty Images)
Disney needed victory.
The company has been particularly hit by the pandemic: all of its US theme parks are closed, all of its cruise lines are closed, all of its Disney retail stores are closed, and its cable affiliates ABC and ESPN are hungry for Live sports content. .
Disney has twice delayed the theatrical release date of its new live-action version of “Mulan” due to the pandemic: first from March 27 to July 24, then to August 21. Disney is in an apparent chicken game with Warner Brothers, which has delayed its Christopher Nolan action hit “Tenet” twice, first from July 17 to July 31, then to August 12. Neither studio seems to want to go first, and the entire film industry awaits both premieres.
Meanwhile, Disney + has been the only bright side. On May 4, Disney shared that the service has accumulated 54.5 million paying subscribers in less than six months since its launch in November. In addition to the original “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian,” the vast majority of Disney + content is existing Disney content from its successful franchises. “Hamilton”, although filmed in June 2016 and later purchased by Disney, counts as something new for the Disney + platform.
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