Indiana Jones and the Last Disney+ Crusade

Indiana Jones fans were in for a rude awakening Walt Disney'S (DIS -0.55%) flagship streaming service earlier this week. The first four of the five films in the iconic film series were removed from Disney+ on Tuesday. They are now only available on Paramount Global'S (ABS 0.19%) Paramount+ platform.

Films and series come and go, and studio competitor Paramount was and is the distributor of the four classic films. However, since Disney paid $4 billion to acquire Lucasfilm – the studio behind the Indiana Jones films – and released the fifth and possibly final installment last year, it's easy to understand why Disney+ subscribers are now divided over what has happened Franchise confused are two services. It's the new normal for consumers of premium streaming services, offering more and more premium services with each price increase.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Where doesn't it hurt?

The first four Indiana Jones films were not part of Disney+'s content catalog when the service launched in late 2019. Disney signed a deal last year to bring the films starring the adventurous archaeologist to its eponymous streaming service. The move came before the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyDisney's first Indiana Jones film since acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012 and the first addition to the franchise since 2008.

The film was about a lot. It was widely considered one of the biggest theatrical releases of last year, but failed to crack the top 10 at the box office. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny grossed $174 million in ticket sales domestically and $384 million worldwide. That would be a great return for most films, but relatively poor for a big-budget release since its predecessor attracted far more moviegoers 15 years ago.

A scene from Disney World's Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show. Image source: Disney.

Not as easy as it used to be

One imagines that Disney would have found a way to renew the streaming rights if the film had been a blockbuster last year. After last summer's disappointing turnout, there is currently no sixth public release film in the works.

This doesn't mean Disney is abandoning the franchise. Indiana Jones attractions can be found at several Disney theme parks around the world. A new Indiana Jones ride is coming to Disney's Florida theme park resort in 2027. Rumors of a Disney+ prequel to the franchise were initially reported diversity The end of 2022 appears to have slowed amid cost cutting and poor performance Dial of Destinybut nothing ever really dies in Hollywood.

For now, fans of the franchise will have to subscribe to two different streaming services to get access to all five films in the series. It's not ideal. The timing is pretty bad too.

Disney is increasing the prices of its streaming services in two weeks. Disney+'s ad-free tier will increase by $2 per month to $15.99. This is also the first time the House of Mouse has increased prices on the cheaper ad-supported plan it introduced two years ago. It will go from $7.99 to $9.99 per month.

It took five years for Disney+ to become profitable. If sticker shock and the removal of valuable content hurt subscriber numbers, it could become problematic for this scalable business model.

Thankfully, Disney continues to add more new content to its streaming channels than it takes away. The media stock, which once posted ten-figure annual operating losses, is facing a turnaround and can't afford to go into reverse now.

Missions. Why did it have to be missions?