Disney+ users watch more classic Disney movies than Star Wars or Marvel, according to a new poll. It wasn’t long ago that Netflix and Hulu basically dominated the world of streaming, but now fans have a lot more options with the roll out of several new streaming services. Probably the biggest new streamer in terms of hype and quality of at-launch content is Disney+, which arrived in November and already boasts a reported 10 million subscribers.
Of course, Disney+ made a huge splash right away with its brand new Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which introduced the world to meme star Baby Yoda. However, though Disney+ does offer some original content like The Mandalorian, perhaps the biggest attraction for subscribers is the service’s huge catalog of classic Disney-related content. Many of the great old school animated films are available on Disney+ (with some notable exceptions), including a lot of movies that have been locked up in the infamous Disney vault for a long time. The service also features a lot of older Disney Channel content that, though not as famous as the big Disney movies of the past, appeals to people who grew up with the cable network.
Now that Disney+ has been on for over a month, THR decided to run a poll asking subscribers what they watch on the service, and the results were perhaps not at all surprising. When 496 users were asked about their usage habits, 22% said they mostly use it for classic Disney movies. But Star Wars – including all the original movies – came in a close second with 21%. Marvel of course is also contained under the Disney umbrella, and 15% of poll respondents said they mostly use Disney+ to view Marvel related content.
Farther down the polling list, Pixar movies are also fairly popular with Disney+ users at 14%, followed by Disney Channel content at 9%, The Simpsons at 5%, National Geographic at 3% and Disney+ originals at just 2% (of course, the service is still early in its run and there isn’t a lot of original content yet available). When it comes to age group breakdown, 25% of Millennials listed Disney classics as their favorite category with only 19% in the age group citing Star Wars and 14% listing Marvel. However, Star Wars was the most popular with both Gen X viewers and Boomers. This divide seems to uphold a general sense that Star Wars does not have as strong a following with younger viewers as it has with people who grew up on the original movies.
Interestingly, when the same people were asked not what they mostly view on the service but how often they view offerings from different categories, Pixar came out on top with 38% saying they frequently view content from the animation studio. Disney classics came in second with 37% reporting frequent viewing, followed by Star Wars at 33% and Marvel at 32%. On the other side of the scale, a whopping 37% of respondents say they’ve never watched The Simpsons on the service (maybe they'll change their minds when that aspect ratio issue is fixed), while only 6% reported never watching a classic Disney movie.
Overall, there is nothing particularly shocking about THR’s data, as many no doubt signed up for Disney+ largely on the promise of getting to see the older movies that have been unavailable for many years. Of course, Star Wars and Marvel are both popular as well, as expected. It will be interesting to see how subscribers’ viewing habits evolve over time, especially as more original content is added to the streaming service.
Source: THR