Despite the fact that Disney Plus has been the streaming home for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sections from other Marvel series like X-Men and Fantastic Four, Sony’s Spider-Man films have been a prominent nonattendance from the platform’s library — up to this point. Future Spider-Man titles, alongside other Sony films, will join Disney’s library later on, as Disney and Sony have arrived at a new licensing agreement.
The deal comes just about two weeks after Sony Pictures and Netflix have signed a multi-year agreement to give Netflix first-run rights to Sony films after they play in theaters. The new Disney deal covers the time frame from that point forward, which means theatrical releases from 2022 to 2026 will go to Disney’s streaming services and other television networks (FX, ABC, and so forth) after they leave Netflix. The package just covers U.S. markets.
Library rights to other Sony franchises, as Jumanji and Hotel Transylvania, are covered by the agreement, as well as various different titles. One key point to note: Hulu will access titles from Sony’s library starting as early as this June.
“We are thrilled to team up with Disney on delivering our titles to their viewers and subscribers,” said Keith Le Goy, president of Worldwide Distribution and Networks for Sony Pictures Entertainment. “This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy, which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners.”