When does Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will it be available on Disney Plus? It’s a question we suspect you’ve been asking yourself since the Marvel movie hit theaters.
The short answer is: we just don’t know. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 only launched in theaters on May 3, and depending on when other Marvel movies have debuted on Disney’s main streamer, its Disney Plus release is likely still a long way off.
However, we know that Guardians 3 will soon debut on streaming, but not on Disney Plus. It’s hitting many digital services in early July but, in our opinion, don’t expect the Marvel Phase 5 movie to hit Disney Plus until August at the earliest.
Why do we think it will arrive that month? As we mentioned, this prediction is based on when other recent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies joined Disney Plus’ back catalog. Find out which ones make our list of the best Disney Plus movies while you’re here.
When will Guardians 3 be released on Disney Plus?
Guardians 3 does not yet have a confirmed Disney Plus release date. It only hit theaters in early May (in select territories, such as the UK) before its worldwide release on May 5.
After some box office failures – Ant Man 3 And Thor: Love and Thunder, we’re looking at you – over the past year, Marvel needed a big theatrical win. Fortunately for the studio, Guardians 3 did just that, with the latest MCU film directed by James Gunn earning $823 million at the box office. It’s also still in theaters, so we can expect ticket sales (as they slow) to continue for a few more weeks.
Why is it Guardians 3is performance in theaters important? If it continues to sell tickets, Marvel won’t be in a rush to pull it from theaters and release it on Disney’s main streaming service. Why stream it for free on Disney Plus if it continues to make money in theaters around the world?
That said, if its box office doesn’t increase significantly by (June 23) and the summer blockbuster season, there will be new movies like mission impossible 7, OppenheimerAnd Barbie to be processed in July – then Marvel could bring Guardians 3The theatrical race is coming to an end. That would mean its Disney Plus release wouldn’t be too far off.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 on Disney Plus: our prediction
So when could we Guardians of the Galaxy 3 get off on Disney Plus? As we said in our introduction, we think it will be in August.
Marvel movies had a 45-day exclusivity period in theaters before dropping on Disney’s main streamer. However, the last two MCU movies – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever And Ant Man 3 — didn’t debut on the platform until three months after their theatrical debut. If that 90-day period of exclusivity is the new amount of time between a Marvel movie’s theatrical launch and its release on Disney Plus, Guardians 3 wouldn’t land on one of the world’s top streaming services until early August at the earliest.
The only thing that could change that is the writers’ strike, which (at the time of writing) dominates the entertainment industry’s news cycle.
For those unfamiliar with industrial action: Writers Guild of America (WGA) members are on strike over pay and job security issues, which means no new TV shows or new film is written for television networks or streaming platforms. You can read more about what’s going on in our article about Netflix users canceling their subscriptions amid growing writers’ feud.
With Secret Invasion now on Disney Plus (read our Secret Invasion review while you’re here), and Loki season 2 and Echo should arrive before the end of 2023, Marvel will not be immediately affected by the strike. However, if Disney and its subsidiaries (including Marvel Studios) start to run out of new content for Disney streaming services, including Disney Plus and Hulu, they may decide to release Guardians of the Galaxy 3 earlier than expected. This could mean the final entry in our top July Marvel movie guide releases, which we wouldn’t complain about.
The only potential key in the works for a July launch is the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits digital storefronts this month. The film will land on Apple TV, YouTube, the Amazon store and other rental/purchase platforms on July 7. If Marvel wants to make a quick buck from these services before releasing the movie on Disney Plus, we won’t see. Guardians 3 join the streamer’s movie library next month.
Once we learn an official release date, we’ll update this article. For now, expect the final (potentially) Guardians movie to bow out in August.
For more MCU-based coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order, or see which Marvel movies make our list of the best superhero movies.