Audiences who missed the adventures of Chris Evans' Buzz Lightyear can soon see what they were missing. With its theatrical release beginning to wind down, Disney has announced that Lightyear will be coming to Disney Plus in early August.
Despite a strong marketing campaign, it appears audiences did not flock to theaters to see Lightyear. The newest Disney and Pixar film has grossed $213.4 million at the box office thus far, and now it will be moved to Disney Plus where fans of all ages can continue to stream the space adventure.
"They're back to finish the mission," Disney Plus Canada shared on Instagram. "Check out our epic duo Buzz and Sox in Lightyear, streaming only on Disney Plus August 3." Lightyear is a spinoff that follows the origin story of the iconic Toy Story toy, Buzz Lightyear. Buzz, who is voiced by Evans, sets out on the space adventure of a lifetime with his robot sidekick Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn). The pair set off to help get Buzz back home, but not without encountering an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg (James Brolin) who are attempting to steal his fuel source.
When Disney first announced the film, many fans were confused about the lore behind it. While it's no secret that the Toy Story Buzz Lightyear was inspired by a "real person," many fans first thought that this film was about the toy, not the man. Following some clarifications, the film was received well by many lifelong Toy Story tetralogy fans. However, the film also received backlash from many others. The film features a lesbian couple seen sharing a kiss for a few seconds of screen time. This caused some Disney/Pixar viewers to protest the film and Disney in return.
Although Lightyear performed well at the box office, it lost the top spot its opening weekend to Jurassic World Dominion, which had opened the weekend prior. However, Lightyear scored higher with critics and fans, earning a 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes over Dominion's 30 percent. The audience score currently sits at 84 percent for Lightyear, also beating out Dominion's audience score of 77 percent. Although it's still unknown why fans didn't turn out for Lightyear's opening weekend, the Disney and Pixar space adventure seems to have won the long game.
Lightyear is now playing in theaters and will begin streaming on August 3, 2022, exclusively on Disney Plus.
Source: Disney Plus Canada/Instagram