Several Australian states and territories are currently dealing with new outbreaks of COVID-19 which have forced state-wide lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Those in Greater Sydney are currently dealing with a two-week circuit breaker — one that prevents people from leaving the house unless it’s for essential purposes. Sadly, those ‘essential purposes’ don’t include a visit to the cinemas to see Black Widow.
Currently, the lockdown is set to last until 11:59 p.m. AEST on Friday, July 9 at least, meaning cinemas won’t be open to premiere Black Widow on July 8. Anyone who lives in this area will also not be allowed to leave their homes to see it, given this breaks the current lockdown orders.
So if you were keen on seeing it ASAP, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. You’ll also have to work a bit harder to avoid spoilers online.
Luckily there is a solution, and it comes in the form of Disney+.
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While Black Widow is set to launch in wider Australia on July 8, it’s also set to arrive on Disney+ Premier Access from July 9 (likely around 5 – 7 p.m. AEST, if past form is anything to go by). It means keen moviegoers will still be able to watch the film when it launches, although you will have to wait an extra day.
Disney Premier Access was created for a very specific purpose — to allow people to continue watching movies during the pandemic. And while it was launched with the U.S. and U.K. markets in mind (which were both dealing with major outbreaks at the time), it’s about to become very handy for Sydneysiders who’ve mostly considered it a luxury so far.
Instead of heading to your local cinema (which is likely closed), all you’ll need to do is visit Disney+ on July 9, pay the usual $35.99 fee to watch the film and sit back to enjoy the show.
While nothing will ever measure up to the experience of being in a cinema, it’s a great convenience for everybody currently locked down. If you were planning on seeing the film with your family, it might even save you a bit of money.
It’s a real shame many of us will have to wait if we want to see Black Widow in cinemas, but the safety of the community comes before anything else. In the meantime, Disney+ is an excellent second option.
Black Widow will be available in select Australian cinemas on July 8, but everyone currently locked down will be able to watch the film on Disney+ from July 9.