Crater, a sci-fi film produced by the team behind Stranger Things, has been removed from Disney Plus after less than two months, sparking outrage among viewers. The Independent was first to report on the show’s unceremonious removal.
The $53.4 million movie premiered on Disney Plus on May 12, but disappeared from the platform without warning after just 48 days. This sudden eradication has raised concerns regarding the possibility that other streaming titles may face a similar fate. The removal of Crater follows the elimination of more than two dozen shows from Disney Plus and Hulu in May, including the notable departure of Willow only months prior.
@DisneyPlus wtf….Crater came out less than 2 months ago and it’s already gone, no notice. Enough of this crap. Release the stuff on physical media or keep it on your streaming service. This just deleting content is completely idiotic.
— DH (@TheAceGambit) July 5, 2023
@DisneyPlus can you guys give us heads up when you’re gonna yank shows or films off. Was gonna watch Crater this week. If I knew it would be gone I would have watched it last week. This is insane. Looked like a cool story. What sucks can’t find it on iTunes either so guess I will…
— Ray Abu Salim 🌐 (@Saxgod) July 5, 2023
Starring Mckenna Grace and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Crater told the teen sci-fi story of a boy growing up in a lunar mining colony who embarks on an adventure with friends to explore a legendary crater before being relocated to another planet.
Disney CEO Bob Iger’s directive to cut content on streaming services comes after significant financial losses of over a billion dollars on the platform. Iger aims to achieve $3 billion in savings in 2023, with the content purge incurring an estimated impairment charge of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion. Puck analysis suggests that media companies may have stumbled upon a strategy to reduce their tax liabilities by deliberately devaluing their “content assets,” with the knock-on effect of also reducing licensing fees.
Disney’s content curation approach, along with the widespread removal of content from platforms like Max, heightens concerns about the preservation of media. With the decline of physical releases, many titles face the imminent risk of vanishing completely, and in an unpredictable manner.
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