Ron’s Gone Wrong Proved Disney+’s Movie Release Model Right

Ron’s Gone Wrong‘s Disney+ success proves that Disney is right about their movie release model. The film was a huge box office flop but has been deservedly flourishing on Disney+ since it hit the streaming service. This shows that some movies may be meant for this release model.

The 3D animated film was acquired by Disney through 20th Century Studios but didn’t receive the proper attention it needed or deserved in the marketing department, resulting in the film bombing at the box office, despite critical praise. However, Ron’s Gone Wrong has been given new life in the form of Disney+. The little animated film has climbed up the ranks of the Disney+ ladder since its debut on the service, popping up in the #1 spot for movies on the service. This could be an indication that these types of films may be better suited for a streaming model rather than a theatrical release.

Ron’s Gone Wrong sports a fun family-friendly adventure, with a cast of colorful characters that both children and adults alike can relate to, which makes its streaming appeal undeniable. It’s a very streaming-friendly film, as most kids will want to watch it on repeat and most parents won’t mind having to see it multiple times, especially considering that Ron’s Gone Wrong is free with a Disney+ subscription and isn’t locked behind any kind of paywall. That way children can watch it at any time that they please, as many times as they want to, boosting up the film’s streaming numbers. It’s a smart strategy that forgoes an expensive theatrical marketing campaign.

Ron’s Gone Wrong is also a much smaller scale film than most Disney animated films, showing strong potential for lovable robot protagonist Ron, who is similar to Big Hero 6‘s Baymax, to flourish further on streaming, along with other future Disney icons. Films like Ron’s Gone Wrong have a much lower budget than an average Disney production, meaning these types of mid-budget animated flicks can really prosper from a streaming release rather than a theatrical run. If more money is put into the animation and marketing for a streaming-only release, these smaller animated films can reach a broad audience on streaming rather than taking the risk of the studio losing money on these smaller releases. It’s a much safer bet to give less theater-friendly animated films a home on streaming than for a studio to take a risk with an expensive theatrical release.

So while it may upset theater chains, Ron’s Gone Wrong‘s Disney+ success is a strong indicator of what the future of animated films on streaming could be. This can be seen as both a win for the studio and the films themselves, as instead of being buried in obscurity due to a poor box office, these films can find their audiences on a streaming platform such as Disney+. Instead of pouring money into a film and marketing campaign and ultimately losing money, studios can give these smaller animated films life on their streaming services, giving audiences popular icons like Ron on both the big and small screens alike.