Disney+ Confirms Doctor Strange Premiere

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will stream exclusively on Disney+ from June 22, it was announced today.

The Marvel Studios sequel only opened theatrically five weeks ago and at the weekend was the NZ box office’s second highest-grossing release, having amassed $6.06 million.

Only one other movie has grossed more this year, Top Gun: Maverick, which has earned more than $6 million since it opened on May 24.

In other streaming news:

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for workplace comedy Loot, which will stream from June 24. It stars Maya Rudolph, Michaela Jaé Rodriquez, Ron Funches, Nat Faxon and Joel Kim Booster.  Here’s the blurb:

Billionaire Molly Novak (Rudolph) has a dream life, complete with private jets, a sprawling mansion, and a gigayacht — anything her heart desires. But when her husband of 20 years betrays her, she spirals publicly, becoming fuel for tabloid fodder. She’s reaching rock bottom when she learns, to her surprise, that she has a charity foundation run by the no-nonsense Sofia Salinas (Rodriguez), who pleads with Molly to stop generating bad press. With her devoted assistant Nicholas (Kim Booster) by her side, and with the help of Sofia and team — including mild-mannered accountant Arthur (Faxon) and her optimistic, pop-culture-loving cousin Howard (Funches) — Molly embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Giving back to others might be what she needs to get back to herself.

Apple TV+ also has announced a two-season order for spy drama Slow Horses, about a dysfunctional team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 known un-affectionately as Slough House.

The first season debuted earlier this year, with S2 soon to follow.

In S3, the disgraced spies work together to foil a rogue agent when one of their own is kidnapped; S4 will four open with a bombing that detonates personal secrets, rocking the already unstable foundations of Slough House.

Prime Video will stream Billy Porter’s Anything’s Possible, a Gen Z coming-of-age story, from July 22. Reads the blurb:

It follows a confident high school girl who is trans, as she navigates through senior year. When her classmate gets a crush on her, he musters up the courage to ask her out, despite the drama he knows it could cause. What transpires is a romance that showcases the joy, tenderness, and pain of young love.

Disney+ Day will return on September 8, 2022, when the streaming service will premiere new content from its marquee brands, including the return of the beloved Disney franchise in the all-new live action Pinocchio and premieres from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

Last week Disney+ unveiled the teaser trailer for Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment’s Willow, a live-action fantasy adventure series based on the 1988 movie that will premiere November 30. Here’s the blurb:

An epic period fantasy series with a modern sensibility set in an enchanted land of breathtaking beauty, Willow features a diverse international cast with Jonathan Kasdan, Ron Howard, Wendy Mericle, Kathleen Kennedy, and Michelle Rejwan serving as executive producers. The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and an infant girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness. Now, in a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.

The same day Apple TV+ released the trailer for What If the Future Never Happened?, which is billed as “a genre-bending, semi-autobiographical featurette that puts reality and fantasy in a hyper-speed spin cycle”. Here’s the longline:

It’s 1994, mere months before a teenage rockstar called Daniel (Rasmus King) would conquer the global music world in ways never-before-seen. On this ordinary day in regional Australia, while escaping the routine torment of three local bullies (led by newcomer Lockie Ranson), a chance interaction with a mysterious figure from the future will change Daniel’s Tomorrow forever.