Did Disney+ Remove The Controversial 'Lightyear' From Its Library? Here's What Really Happened

Did Walt Disney Company’s DIS Disney+ remove the controversial and unsuccessful film “Lightyear” from its library? Not quite. Amid online chatter about the streaming giant allegedly removing the animated feature from its movie shelf, here’s what actually happened.

What Happened: Over the weekend, netizens started noticing that while the film “Lightyear” remains available for streaming on Disney+, the documentary titled “Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear” has disappeared from the platform.

The news isn’t surprising, considering the company has decided to remove a wide range of content from the streaming platform as part of cost-cutting measures. 

See Also: Disney Q2 Earnings Highlights: Details On Revenue Beat, Disney+ Subs And How All Of The Mouse’s Streaming Platforms Performed

For the unversed, “Lightyear” told the story of Buzz Lightyear — the basis of the toy featured in the “Toy Story” franchise. The movie featured Chris Evans as the voice of the title character. 

However, this animated Pixar film, released in 2022, is considered one of Diseny’s biggest box office failures. As per reports, the “Lightyear” grossed $115.8 million domestically and $97.8 million in international theaters. 

Disney lost an estimated $106 million after the release of Lightyear, with the film’s total expenses reported to be around $373 million, according to Deadline. 

It was likely that the ban on the movie in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over same-sex kiss scenes harmed its international box office result.

Why It’s Important: Previously, Disney revealed its plans to cut costs by $5.5 billion. Earlier this year, Jeremy Doig, the company’s CTO at the time, departed, marking the development under CEO Bob Iger’s restructuring plans for the largest entertainment company.

At the time, Iger dissolved Disney Media Entertainment & Distribution, a division created by his predecessor Bob Chapek to oversee the streaming services.

Check out more of Benzinga’s Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Disney+ And Hulu To Soon Tie The Knot: One App To Rule Them All?