Virus-shocked Hollywood gets break with streaming services

LOS ANGELES — Sports are on hold, theaters are closed and so are amusement parks, a disaster-movie scenario that has stunned Hollywood. The Walt Disney Co. put the box-office hit “Frozen 2” on its Disney Plus streaming service three months earlier than planned, “surprising families with some fun and joy during this challenging period.” The animated film became available in the past few days on the service in the U.S., Canada, Holland, Australia and New Zealand. Hulu, controlled by majority owner Disney, is relying for now on such high-profile programs as the newly released Reese Witherspoon-Kerry Washington series “Little Fires Everywhere,” based on Celeste Ng’s bestselling novel. For Disney, streaming is the outlier in a corporate portfolio otherwise slammed by the coronavirus: The suspension of theatrical and TV productions and delays in new movie releases, including its long-anticipated “Black Widow,” but also the closure of Disney resorts in the U.S., France and Asia and the sports lull’s impact on its ESPN channels. “As the extent of the Covid-19 crisis became clear, we realized that a service like Acorn TV could make a meaningful difference in many people’s lives, especially those who are facing prolonged isolation and potential economic hardship as a result of the virus,” said Matthew Graham, the service’s general manager.