Disney Plus, the popular streaming service, has announced a price increase for its subscription fee in the Middle East. The new pricing will take effect starting 21 November 2023. This means all the existing users signed up on or before 17 October 2023 and set to renew every month, will be charged at the revised subscription prices starting 21 November 2023. If the payment fails, the billing retries that happen on or after 21 November 2023 will be billed at the new price.
The monthly subscription fee for Disney Plus in the Saudi Arabia increase from SAR 29.99 to SAR 39.99. The annual subscription fee will now be SAR 354.99. The price increase appears to be part of the company’s plan to “accelerate profitability for the business.”
Below will be the new price plan of Disney Plus subscriptions in the Middle East;
Compare to Netflix’s Standard plan of SAR 43/month, the new SAR 39.99/month price of Disney is still low.
Netflix just announced that Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is coming to the streaming giant’s platform this 31st of October. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released on digital download by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 5. Across the Spider-Verse earned over $690 million worldwide for its theatrical release on June 2nd.
His name is Miles Morales. He was bitten by a radioactive spider. I'm pretty sure you know the rest. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse comes to Netflix in the US on October 31!!! pic.twitter.com/kQsnbSK16i
Netflix is able to stream Spider-man content due to the deal it signed with Sony in April 2021, the detail basically let Netflix stream Sony’s films about 6 months after their theatrical release, this includes all of Spider-man and Spider-man related (Character) films that Sony produced and will produce.
Ahead of the Geeked Week next month, Netflix release 4 new photos for their upcoming live action adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The photos are from Fire Nation’s Royalty and Powerful;
Fire Lord Ozai, played by Daniel Dae Kim, the tyrannical and sadistic ruler of the Fire Nation, General Iroh’s younger brother, and Prince Zuko and Princess Azula’s father. He also voiced to the Avatar franchise multiple times—the first time in Book 2 of The Last Airbender, where he voiced General Fong, and in The Legend of Korra, where he voiced Hiroshi Sato.
General Iroh, played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, a retired Fire Nation general, Fire Lord Ozai’s elder brother, and the wise and nurturing uncle and mentor to Prince Zuko.
Princess Azula, portrayed by Elizabeth Yu, the younger sister of Prince Zuko and a gifted Princess of the Fire Nation.
Commander Zhao, played by Ken Leung, the arrogant, ruthless, and dishonorable Fire Nation naval officer, who is also after the Avatar for its fame, power and prestige.
Netflix also said that they will reveal more about the coming series at their Geeked Week event. Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, scheduled in 2024 and it is reported to be 8-episode long, each episode is at least an hour long.
Netflix just announced that their live action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series “YuYu Hakusho” will premiere on the streaming platform on the 14th of December.
More than three decades after Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi first captured the imagination of readers, the beloved manga gets a live-action adaptation.
The series will star Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi (Eugene), Jun Shison as Kurama (Dennis), Kanata Hongo as Hiei (Vincent), and Shuhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara (Alfred).The series follows the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is killed by a car while saving a child’s life. He is given a second chance at life by the Spirit World, and is tasked with working as a Spirit Detective to investigate cases involving demons.
Based on the manga : Yoshihiro Togashi “Yu Yu Hakusho” (Shueisha Jump Comics)
Director: Sho Tsukikawa
Cast: Takumi Kitamura, Jun Shison, Kanata Hongo, Shuhei Uesugi
Screenplay: Tatsuro Mishima
VFX Supervisor: Ryo Sakaguchi (Scanline VFX)
Executive Producer: Kaata Sakamoto (Netflix)
Producer: Akira Morii
In Association with：THE SEVEN
Production: ROBOT
Produced by: Netflix
Just like Netflix’s live action One Piece, YuYu Hakusho will like focus on the origin story of Urameshi on he became Spirit Detective and how he became “friends” with Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara and Botan, as well as Koenma and Genkai.
You can watch all 4 seasons of the anime series on Netlfix.
In just one tweet, Netflix greeted Umbrella Academy’s lead characters a HAPPY BIRTHDAY and at the same time announced that 4th and Final Season of Umbrella Academy to premiere on Netflix in 2024. The tween is accompanied by a 43 secs video of the lead casts.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRELLIES ☂️🖤🎉 the final season of The Umbrella Academy is coming in 2024 👀 pic.twitter.com/odEcag0DE5
Netflix Philippines just release their very first Christmas Station ID. The music is a modified version of Joey Albert’s Kumukutikutitap and the streaming giant wrote in the video description that “Christmas came early.”
The video features “Replacing Chef Chico” stars Piolo Pascual, Alessandra de Rossi, and Sam Milby; “Can’t Buy Me Love” stars Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano; “Keys To The Heart” cast Zanjoe Marudo and Elijah Canlas; “Missed Connections” stars Miles Ocampo, Kelvin Miranda, and Chie Filomeno; “What If” stars Alessandra de Rossi and JM De Guzman; and “Seasons” stars Lovi Poe and Carlo Aquino, which are all available in Netflix.
Releasing of Christmas Station ID is an annual tradition of local networks particularly GMA and ABS-CBN, and it looks like Netflix Philippines is adopting that tradition after being in the Philippines for 7 years now.
Netflix is set to release a live-action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series Yu Yu Hakusho in December 2023. The series will star Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi (Eugene), Jun Shison as Kurama (Dennis), Kanata Hongo as Hiei (Vincent), and Shuhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara (Alfred).
The series is produced by ROBOT and directed by Sho Tsukikawa. The screenplay is being written by Tatsuro Mishima.
Yu Yu Hakusho is the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is killed by a car while saving a child’s life. He is given a second chance at life by the Spirit World, and is tasked with working as a Spirit Detective to investigate cases involving demons.
Casts
Takumi Kitamura as Yusuke Urameshi
Jun Shison as Kurama
Kanata Hongō as Hiei
Shuhei Uesugi as Kazuma Kuwabara
The anime series is known for its humor, action, and complex characters. It was a huge success in Japan, and has also been popular with audiences around the world. A tagalog dub version of the anime was aired in the Philippines in the 90’s on IBC 13 and GMA 7.
Netflix announced the Japanese live-action series adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho December 16, 2020, then on July 15, 2022, it was announced that Shō Tsukikawa would serve as the series director, with Tatsurō Mishima handling the script and Ryō Sakaguchi serving as the VFX supervisor, as well as the casting.
unveiling the cast of the live-action Yu Yu Hakusho over the next few days! stay tuned to this thread pic.twitter.com/2LUzsDhM3r
Fans of the original manga and anime series are eagerly awaiting the live-action adaptation, specially with the success of the live action One Piece. They are hoping that Netflix will be able to do the series justice, and create a show that is both entertaining and faithful to the source material.
I am also excited for the release of the live-action Yu Yu Hakusho series. I have been a fan of the manga and anime series for many years, and I am curious to see how Netflix adapts it for live-action. I am also hopeful that the series will help to introduce Yu Yu Hakusho to a new audience.
All 4 seasons of the anime is available for stream on Netlfix.
It’s official the live action adaptation of One Piece will have a second season, this was announced by Netflix accompanied by a special message from Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the Japanese manga series of One Piece, where the adaptation is based.
Disney has announced that it will be increasing the prices of its streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, in October. The ad-free version of Disney+ will increase from $10.99 to $13.99 per month, while the ad-supported version will remain at $7.99 per month. The ad-free version of Hulu will increase from $14.99 to $17.99 per month, while the ad-supported version will remain at $7.99 per month.
The price increase is effective for new subscribers starting on October 12, 2023, and for existing subscribers starting on November 1 2023.
Disney has cited rising content costs as the reason for the price increase. The company has been investing heavily in new content for its streaming services, including original series and movies, as well as live sports. The price increase is likely to be met with some resistance from subscribers, but it is not unexpected. Streaming services have been raising prices in recent years, as they compete for subscribers and content.
“The strong momentum of our ad-supported plans in the U.S. demonstrates the importance of providing consumers with choice, flexibility and value,” said Joe Earley, President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment. “We are excited to expand that offering in more markets across the globe, including in Europe and Canada, and to launch a new premium duo bundle of ad-free Disney+ and Hulu this Fall, as we take steps toward making extensive Hulu content available via Disney+ later this year for Bundle subscribers.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the final installment of Guardians of the Galaxy film trilogy will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting this 2nd of August. The announcement was made on the official twitter account of the streaming service. The film’s arrival to the streaming service comes three months after its theatrical release in April 2023.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 follows the Guardians as they try to save the life of Rocket after being injured by Adam Warlock, following the event of Volume 2. As of July 16, 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 earned $843.3 million at the box offices worldwide.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff, reprising their roles from the first two film with Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as the voice actor for Rocket and Groot.
The film also features Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the talking space dog with telekinetic power. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is directed by James Gunn, this will be the last film that Gunn will be working under Marvel and before moving to DC Studios as the co-chairpersons and CEOs.
Netflix finally release the first trailer of the much awaited live action adaptation of One Piece and it will be available for streaming on 21st of August.
The 103 seconds trailer shows different clips of Luffy as he recruits Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji to be the crew of his pirate crew and aboard the Going Merry. We also see a glimpse of Buggy the Star Clown the captain of the Buggy Pirates and some sword action sequence with Zoro.
The casts for the Netflix’s Onepiece are;
Iñaki Godoy as Luffy
Mackenyu as Zoro
Emily Rudd as Nami
Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp
Taz Skylar as Sanji
Netflix’s live action adaption of One Piece series will have 10-episodes and will cover most, if not, all of East Blue Saga and will be on Netflix on 21st of August.
Disney just dropped the teaser trailer of Ahsoka, a spin off series from The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
The character Ahsoka Tano was first introduced in the Star Wars Universe as the Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she then appeared as a supporting character in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and the subsequent animated television series (2008-2014; 2020).
The live action version of Ahsoka was first seen in the Disney+ series ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, portrayed by actress Rosario Dawson, she will reprise the role in the series.
Ahsoka the series will be in Disney+ this August 2023.
One Pience the anime series will be available for streaming on Netflix Philippines this coming 15th of April. This was announced by the official Facebook page of Netflix Philippines.
Once piece was only available on selected region including Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It’s unclear if all One Piece episodes will be available including TV Specials, OVA and shorts will be available, since in Netflix Japan only 13 seasons are available while in Netflix US only 10 seasons or a total of 325 episodes can be streamed.
One Piece follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy and his gang of wacky pirates as they look for the legendary treasure One Piece and become the new king of the pirates.
Netflix Philippines just announced a new pricing for its Basic and Standard Plan in the country that will take effect this 21st of February 2023.
From ₱369 per month, the new price for the Basic Plan will now be ₱249 per month, and Standard Plan will now be ₱399 from ₱459 per month. The new price changes will apply to both new and current subscribers. The Basic and Standard Plan are basically the same plan except that the Standard Plan will offer Full HD (1080P) resolution, while the Basic Plan only have HD (720P).
The price adjustment appears to be Netflix PH answer to the increasing competition in the country, since subscription to other streaming service available in the Philippines offer a much lower monthly plan.
Netflix just dropped the official trailer of Shadow and Bone Season 2.
Season 2 will pickup at the end of the first season, in the trailer we can see Alina Starkov able to master her powers to the point where she needs locate two mythical creatures to help amplify her powers that will once and for all destroys Shadow Fold and The Darkling (General Aleksander Kirigan). On the other side, the Crows will finally meet “the legendary Sun Summoner.”
Shadow and Bone is based on the book by Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo, the series follows the story of Alina Starkov, a cartographer in the First Army of Ravka, discovers that she is a Grisha with the ability of summoning light that can destroy the Shadow Fold — a region of impenetrable darkness that divided Ravka for hundreds of years.
Developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix, “Shadow and Bone” stars Jessie Mei Li (Alina Starkov), Archie Renaux (Malyen Oretsev), Freddy Carter (Kaz Brekker), Amita Suman (Inej), Kit Young (Jesper Fahey), Ben Barnes (General Kirigan), Danielle Galligan (Nina Zenik) and Calahan Skogman (Matthias Helvar).
Shadow and Bone Season 2 premieres on Netflix this 16th of March 2023. Season 1 of Shadow and Bone is now available on Netflix.
Good news to all Disney Plus subscribers, since Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be available in the streaming platform on February 1st, 2023.
The film was first release last November 2022 and have been the #1 movie in the world for 5 weeks in a row. The film follows the leader of fictional country Wakanda and how they protect their country from invaders and those who try to steal their branium, after the death of Black Panther/King T’Challa’s death.
The film have won 80th Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress performed by Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, and the 28th Critics’ Choice Awards, where the film has received six total nominations.
On February 1, the worldwide phenomenon arrives on @DisneyPlus.
After reports that Wednesday season 2 will not be stream on Netflix, the company has officially announced that there will be Wednesday Season 2, “only on Netflix.”
Prior to the renewal announcement, reports have surface that there will be second season of Wednesday but won’t be under the Netflix, since the IP of “The Addams Family” which includes “Wednesday” is owned by MGM, and now part of Amazon after it have been acquired for $8.5B.
It’s not surprising for Netflix to renew Wednesday, since the shows have been a runaway success for the streaming company. The company said that “the series broke the Netflix record for most hours viewed in a single week… twice. In the first week, it raked in 341.23 million hours viewed; in its second, 411.29 million hours viewed.”
Details about Wednesday Season 2 in terms of this its casting and plot after still unknown but we can assume that most if not all of season 1 casts will return to reprise their role.
Disney Plus streaming service is now available in the Philippines and at the same time, folks at DisneyMusicAsiaVEVO Youtube channel dropped the official Tagalog versions of 6 of Encanto’s most beloved songs; the opening “The Family Madrigal,” to the groovy tune of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” What’s great about these tagalog versions is that it’s not the word for word translation but the right kind of Tagalog translation.
Leia, Rowena N. Raganit, Encanto – Cast – Ang Pamilya Madrigal (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
Cathy Go – Pag Nagigipit (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
Kayo (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
Wag Ikuwento Si Bruno (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
Leia, Kenz Ancero – Ano Pa’ng Kaya Ko? (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
Leia – Nas’an Ang Milagro Ko (From “Encanto”/Tagalog)
The localized version of Encanto is now available in Disney Plus.
Netflix just revealed the title of the first episode of Stranger Things Season 5, which is aptly called The Crawl. The streaming company made the announcement thru their social media accounts and the image in the post appears to be the script for the series.
To close out #StrangerThingsDay, very excited to reveal that the Stranger Things 5 premiere episode is titled…
Aside from the title, no other details have been released by the Netflix and The Duffer brothers, previously said that the 5th season of the Stranger Things will be shorter and could be as big as “Return of the King” and will just focus on the original characters.
The 5th season of the Stranger Things is expected to start production by 2023 but no announcement for the release date. Stranger Things Season 1 to 4 is available on Netflix.
The Umbrella Academy is an American superhero streaming television series based on the comic book series of the same name written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics. Created for Netflix by Steve Blackman and developed by Jeremy Slater, it follows the story of a dysfunctional family of super powered sibling who reunite to solve the mystery of their father’s death and the threat of an imminent apocalypse. All 3 season of Umbrella Academy are now available on Netflix.
You may or may not have missed the biggest con while you were sleeping 👀 I know who did it, and the Red Notice is out for them 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9CAL9DKCS3
Red Notice, an action comedy film that follows the story of three art thieves played by Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson (Agent John Hartley), Ryan Reynolds (Nolan Booth) and Gal Gadot (Sarah Black / “The Bishop”) and their pursuit in stealing the three eggs if Cleopatra.
Marvel studio just release the official Hawkeye series poster that will start streaming on Disney+ on November 24th. Disney will release the first 2 episode of the series, similar to what they did when they release the first two-episode of WandaVision last January 15, 2021.
The series is set right after the events Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye original series will revolve around the introduction of Kate Bishop as the new Hawkeye, and her place in the the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Hawkeye will be a six-episode series and will star Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop / Hawkeye, Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo and Florence Pugh reprise her role as Yelena Belova from the MCU Black Widow film.
Hawkeye original series will start streaming on Disney+ on November 24th.
Another Studio Ghibli film will soon be available on Netflix, adding another great animated film to it’s extensive Studio Ghibli catalog.
Earwig and the Witch will soon be available globally on Netflix. Released in 2020, Earwig and the Witch follows the story of Earwig who was left at St. Morwald’s Home for Children by her witch mother and was later adopted by strange couple, Bella Yaga and Mandrake, who turns out to be her former members of her mother’s band called Earwig.
Earwig and The Witch is directed by Goro Miyazaki with planning by Hayao Miyazaki and screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji, the film is based on a novel by English writer Diana Wynne Jones with the same name. You can stream Earwig and The Witch this coming November 18th.
Here’s something for the Pinoy otaku, Attack on Titan: The Final Season will be available for streaming on Netflix this coming December 11, 2020, this was announced by the official twitter account of Netflix Philippines.
Together with the announcement on twitter, Netflix Philippines also release the official trailer of the Anime series both on twitter and on their youtube channel (embedded below).
For the past 100 years, humanity has lived within giant walls to protect itself from the Titans, giant lumbering beasts with a taste for human flesh. When the Titans suddenly smash through the wall, it forever changes the destinies of Eren, Mikasa and Armin, three childhood friends who sign up to try to defeat the Titans once and for all.
Sony is in the final stage of negotiation to acquire anime-streaming service Crunchyroll for more than 100 billion yen ($957 million). The deal once approve will combine Funimation and Crunchyroll properties to offer animes around the world.
TOKYO — Sony has entered into final negotiations to acquire U.S. anime-streaming service Crunchyroll, Nikkei learned on Friday, a deal that could catapult the Japanese icon into a global battle with the likes of Netflix.
Sony could end up spending more than 100 billion yen ($957 million) on the U.S. streamer, gaining its 70 million members around the world.
Sony has its own popular anime like “Kimetsu no Yaiba” (“Demon Slayer”), but has been licensing it to streaming services. Sony’s Aniplex, the studio behind “Kimetsu no Yaiba,” has a variety of content, including movies and music, that is mainly distributed by overseas companies.
If the acquisition is realized, global competition for content among companies like Netflix and Hulu will intensify.
Crunchyroll was founded in 2006 and has its headquarters in San Francisco. In 2018, AT&T, the U.S. telecommunications giant, became its parent company.
Sony recently obtained the exclusive right to negotiate for Crunchyroll.
After acquiring Funimation, an anime distributor, in 2017, Sony gained 1 million paying subscribers, mainly in the U.S., but came up against obstacles expanding this customer base.
Crunchyroll has 70 million free members and 3 million paying subscribers in more than 200 countries and regions, including the U.S. and Europe.
Crunchyroll would also give Sony more than 1,000 titles that it can use to vary its offerings.
Sony’s total operating income from games, music and movies is forecast to reach $4.79 billion for the fiscal year ending March, accounting for 60% of the group total.
The company once known for Trinitron TVs and Walkman personal stereos has grown into an entertainment colossus that plans to strengthen this side of its business by building on Crunchyroll’s membership base.
With the coronavirus convincing people around the world to entertain themselves at home, demand for video distribution services is swelling and competition for popular content is intensifying. Netflix, the largest streamer, is forming alliances with animation studios, while Disney last year took its popular library and began its own streaming service.
According to The Association of Japanese Animations, the global anime market in 2018 was worth about $21 billion, 1.5 times that of five years earlier. The overseas market accounts for nearly half of total demand.
In a press release by National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), YouTube, iWant & Iflix will limit the video streaming quality in order to ease data congestion due to work-from-home setup by employers and the increase in demands during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
Google already announced that they will set the default settings to SD Quality, while iFlix has initially set a cap in its streaming service. No content can be streamed at 4k resolution. iWant on the other hand said that it has reduced the streaming bitrate by 33% which started last March 27th.
You can read full text of NTC’s press release below;
