Onward comes to Disney+ April 3, available for digital purchase today

What you need to know

• With most theaters closed, Disney has decided to push Onward's home release up.
• The films will be available for digital purchase today, and on April 3, Onward comes to Disney+ for the US.
• This marks the first Disney film to be significantly moved up for home release.
• No word on when Onward will be available for purchase/Disney+ in other countries yet.

Well, this was a bit of unexpected magic. Onward just hit theaters on March 6, two weeks ago today, and wasn't expected to hit digital stores until sometime later this summer, but with most theaters closed for at least the rest of the spring, Disney's moving up its home release. Onward will be available for digital purchase in the U.S. today with the film being able to stream starting at 8PM EDT — 5PM PST, for you best-coasters.

If you're a Disney+ user that can hold off for another two weeks, though, Onward comes to Disney+ on April 3 in the U.S., following the early release of Frozen 2 last weekend. Unlike the Frozen release where international release was announced at the same time as the U.S, we don't have a timetable for when the film will be available to buy or stream in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or the Netherlands, to say nothing of when it may be launching in the eight European countries Disney+ launches in next week.

We also have no inkling yet if this marks the beginning of Disney adopting a similar strategy to Universal, who is making films available to rent while they're in theaters — wherever theaters are still open right now amid the COVID-19 pandemic — but I wouldn't hold my breath on this happening with Black Widow or the rest of Disney's summer blockbusters.