Disney+ has officially hit 95 million paid subscribers worldwide, an impressive bump from the service's last update. Disney+ first launched in November 2019 and advertised itself as the go-to spot for all things Disney, including its extended properties like Marvel and Star Wars. Despite some expected growing pains, Disney+ began to grow substantially right out of the gate, bolstered in part by the success of its first live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian. All throughout 2020, the service continued to grow and had a number of high-profile releases, such as The Mandalorian season 2 and Broadway's smash hit Hamilton.
Going forward, Disney+ will have a great deal more to offer. As revealed at the studio's Investor Day in December, their biggest focus going forward is on streaming. 2021 promises to hold more major debuts, particularly in the Marvel sector as the MCU starts to regrow its television side. Disney+ will also launch its second Premier Access offering in March with Raya and the Last Dragon, which will simultaneously be available in theaters. Plus, Star Wars' presence will still be felt with the arrival of The Book of Boba Fett in December.
All of Disney+'s upcoming content has evidently won over a good number of people, as the service has seen another uptick in subscribers. Per Variety, Disney+ has amassed 94.9 million subscribers worldwide as of January 2, 2021. It's said the end-of-year debut of Soul likely aided this, as well as The Mandalorian's second season. Additionally, 30% of those subscribers come from Disney+ Hotstar in India and Indonesia. All told, this is up from the 86.8 million Disney+ had back in December and beats their original projection of hitting 90 million within four years.
With these numbers in mind, it definitely looks like Disney+ will match Netflix's subscription numbers by 2022, as was previously reported. With currently airing show WandaVision stirring up more and more buzz each week, plus its entire upcoming slate, Disney+ is cementing itself as a pop culture hotspot. Netflix still remains on top in the streaming wars, but Disney+ looks to carve a place for itself by relying on its most beloved properties.
Interestingly, this comes as a particular group of people attempted to get #CancelDisneyPlus trending in the wake of Lucasfilm firing actress Gina Carano from The Mandalorian. Carano came under fire for several offensive social media posts, and there were some fans who took issue with this. At the same time, there were more who proudly championed their Disney+ subscriptions, so it seems unlikely that those naysayers will make a dent in the service's lofty new total. Only time will tell how the numbers shake out in the coming months, but they're looking good now.
Source: Variety
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