Disney has halved the theatrical exclusivity period of its forthcoming movies, including the likes of Ryan Reynolds starrer Free Guy and new Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Previously expected to be in cinemas for 90 days before they hit streaming services (as in the days before the pandemic), new Disney films will just have a 45 days exclusivity window going forward. The movies will then be available to stream - presumably on Disney+ via its Premier Access program and to rent on other services, such as Sky in the UK.

This follows similar moves by other major studios, including Warner Bros and Universal.

The news was announced as part of Disney's latest earnings call on Thursday 13 May. It was also revealed that Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, will hit Disney+ Premier Access the same day as its theatrical release: 30 July in the US.

Disney+ subscriber numbers were unveiled during the call too. The service has now surpassed the 100 million subscriber number globally - with 103.6 million users.

That falls short of previous predictions, but is still mightily impressive for a service that has existed for less than two years.

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