That’s what time “Lightyear” will be released on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. “Lightyear” is the fifth film in the popular Toy Story franchise, telling the story of the origin of the character from the universe on which Buzz Lightyear is based. Supporting the Buzz Lightyear version of the sci-fi movie voiced by Chris Evans, Lightyear received mixed reviews and largely failed to match the recognition of the main parts of Pixar’s Toy Story.
Lightyear was the first Pixar film to receive a full exclusive theatrical window after Toy Story 4 in 2019, although the franchise’s spinoff has significantly underperformed at the box office. While “Toy Story 3” and “Toy Story 4” earned more than $1 billion at the box office, Lightyear earned $222.4 million worldwide (just about $20 million more than its budget). After a disappointing Pixar movie screening in theaters, Lightyear is finally moving to streaming on Disney Plus, where hopefully its launch will be more successful.
When “Exactly a Light Year” will be released on Disney+ (what date and time)
Lightyear will be released on Disney+ at midnight Pacific Time / 3:00 Eastern time on August 3, 2022. Pixar Lightyear premiered in theaters on June 17, giving it a 47-day exclusive period before it’s available for streaming on Disney+. The addition of Lightyear means that Disney+ subscribers can now watch the entire Toy Story franchise, starting with the movie Andy saw and which made him a Buzz Lightyear fan for the first time.
Will Lightyear be bigger on Disney+ than in theaters?
Despite the fact that “Lightyear” lost at the box office and did not receive critical acclaim compared to its predecessors from “Toy Story”, the 2022 film may receive a greater response on the Disney streaming platform. The reviews of Lightyear said that this was not the release that desperately needed to be seen in theaters, so many families and Disney+ subscribers chose to wait for its streaming debut instead. Just as Encanto found a new lease of life after being released on Disney+, Lightyear is likely to see a resurgence in popularity and hype around its ties to Toy Story (or lack thereof) after its online availability.
Pixar’s best films tend to carefully wrap the heart, soul and deep emotions in a carefree adventure, but Lightyear has mostly satisfied the purely entertainment value of its sci-fi antics. This may be part of why Lightyear failed to live up to the box office and critical expectations of the main parts of Toy Story, and suggests that the 2022 animated film is much better suited for more casual viewing on Disney+. For films like Light Year, which may not have taken off at the box office, Disney+ has proven that these projects can still be hits when the stakes are lower and look in a more relaxed, independent setting.
