Movies

Pixar's 'Onward' Is Releasing Today On Digital, Just Two Weeks After It Hit Theaters

onward digital release
By Hoai-Tran Bui

Pixar's Onward is hitting digital platforms today on March 20, merely two weeks after the animated fantasy-adventure film hit theaters. The film's Disney+ streaming debut will follow soon after on April 3. The animated film is the latest to opt for an early digital release in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Disney announced that Onward will be available for digital download in the U.S. tonight, on March 20. Onward is listed as being available for digital purchase starting March 20 at 5 p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST on XBox, the Playstation Store, and the Microsoft Store, with FandangoNow and Vudu listing the Pixar film as being up for pre-order to watch soon. The film will be available for purchase for $19.99.

Onward's Disney+ debut will follow quickly after, with the Pixar animated film scheduled to be available on the streaming service in the U.S. on April 3.

"While we're looking forward to audiences enjoying our films on the big screen again soon, given the current circumstances, we are pleased to release this fun, adventurous film to digital platforms early for audiences to enjoy from the comfort of their homes," director Dan Scanlon and producer Kori Rae said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The digital release comes just two weeks after the film hit theaters on March 6. Since its theatrical release, Onward has consistently taken the top spot in the box office charts, with less and less competition coming its way as studios delayed their major releases amid coronavirus concerns. Following the Centers for Disease Control's recommendation against gatherings of 50 people or more, businesses and movie theaters have closed in quick succession, leading many studios to drop their theatrical films on digital platforms early. Disney was one of those studios, getting ahead of the game by releasing Frozen 2 on Disney+ three months early, to the joy of parents everywhere.

Families will be happy to watch Onward at home now too, as the Pixar film was one of the last major films to hit theaters, and its release came just as the coronavirus pandemic was reaching U.S. shores.

Directed by Dan Scanlon, Onward stars Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. It will be available for digital download tonight on March 20, at 5p.m. PST/8 p.m. EST, followed by a Disney+ streaming debut on April 3.

In "Onward," teenage elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (voices of Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) get an unexpected opportunity to spend one more day with their late dad, embarking on an extraordinary quest aboard Barley's epic van Guinevere. Like any good quest, their journey is filled with magic spells, cryptic maps, impossible obstacles and unimaginable discoveries. But when the boys' fearless mom Laurel (voice of Julia Louis-Dreyfus) realizes her sons are missing, she teams up with a part-lion, part-bat, part-scorpion, former warrior – aka The Manticore (voice of Octavia Spencer) – and heads off to find them. Perilous curses aside, this one magical day could mean more than any of them ever dreamed.

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