A little over a month ahead of a planned theatrical re-release of James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic “Avatar,” the film has been quietly removed from its SVOD home on the Disney+ service worldwide without any prior notice.
The removal was first reported by What’s On Disney Plus with no official reason provided by Disney or 20th Century Studios for the drop. Though 20th Century Studios titles do get pulled on occasion due to contractual obligations, those are generally on a market-by-market basis (and with a heads up given by the studio).
This, on the other hand, was reportedly removed worldwide without warning, and the timing would appear to be an obvious push to redirect fans to cinemas for the re-release of the first film on September 23rd ahead of the arrival of the sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” in December.
“Avatar” has reportedly ranked in the top 10 streaming movies in countries outside the US for over 100 days of this year so far. No word as of yet as to when “Avatar” will return to the Disney+ service.
