Today, Disney announced new release dates for some of their films on their theatrical slate. This included The One and Only Ivan which was scheduled to be in theaters on August 14. The film will now be moved to Disney+ and premiere on August 21. The One and Only Ivan follows in the footsteps of Artemis Fowl (which premiered today) and Hamilton (July 3).
The One and Only Ivan was a likely candidate to get moved to Disney+ considering there wasn’t a lot of buzz around the film and due to the uncertain state of the box office, things probably wouldn’t have worked. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m sure there was a possibility of this film getting moved to Disney+ due to expectations.
The One and Only Ivan features the voices of Angelina Jolie, Sam Rockwell, Danny DeVito, Bryan Cranston, and more. The film is based on Katherine Applegate’s award-winning book.
The other big moves of the day include Disney moving Peter Jackson’s documentary The Beatles: Get Back to August 27, 2021. The doc includes never-before-seen footage of the band as they record the album “Let It Be.” The film was scheduled to hit theaters on September 4 of this year. If you remember Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger is high on this doc. He announced it at the Disney Annual Shareholder’s Meeting earlier this year.
Lastly, The Personal History of David Copperfield from Searchlight Pictures will go on a limited run on August 14. The film stars Dev Patel and is directed by Armando Iannucci.
That’s it for the current date shakeups at Disney’s various studios. Mulan is still expected to hit theaters in July. Disney also seems to be a firm believer in the theatrical experience so I wouldn’t expect to see them pivot to PVOD (premium video on demand) any time soon.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
