Disney+ Saw 28% Higher App Downloads Over Christmas Holiday

Walt Disney Co’s DIS streaming service's mobile app garnered 2.3 million global installations over the Christmas holiday, according to Sensor Tower, a market research firm.

What Happened: The holiday weekend numbers mark a 28% increase over the preceding period, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The increase in numbers comes as the Pixar animated film “Soul” was released on Disney+ on Christmas Day alongside making its cinematic debut in international markets including China.

The release of “Wonder Woman 1984,” a superhero sequel on rival HBO Max — a streaming platform owned by AT&T Inc T — helped set a new single-day record for mobile downloads for that platform, as per Bloomberg.

Nearly 554,000 users signed up for HBO Max’s app between Friday and Sunday, with 244,000 downloads made on Sunday alone, according to Apptopia data.

HBO Max’s total mobile users now reportedly amount to 12 million.

Why It Matters: The release of the two films would be monitored closely by Hollywood executives and investors, noted Bloomberg.

Wonder Woman grossed $16.7 million in theatres in the United States over the weekend, with WarnerMedia disclosing that half of the customers that subscribed to HBO Max directly from the company saw the movie on the day of its release.

Disney’s global subscriber number stands at 87 million, while HBO Max — available only in the U.S. — has 12.6 million accounts activated, as per Bloomberg.

See Also: Disney+ Hits 86.8M Subs, Stock Hits New 52-Week Highs: Key Takeaways Of Investor Presentation

This month, Disney hiked the price of its SVOD service by one dollar in the U.S., while rival Netflix Inc NFLX had raked up prices in October. 

Price Action: Disney shares closed nearly 3% higher at $178.86 and gained 0.44% in the after-hours session. On the same day, AT&T shares closed almost 0.5% lower at $28.55 and gained 0.18% in the after-hours trading.