UPDATED on 11/19/2023– the deal is still good! If you haven’t watched the Hamilton movie yet, you can still gather the whole family together to watch for just a $8 streaming subscription.
The film skipped the theaters and went right to streaming. It was originally scheduled for wide release in movie theaters 2020 — and then that was canceled after public events became unfeasible and the world turned upside down during Covid.
Instead, the “Hamilfilm” now streams exclusively on Disney Plus.
The film was shot over three days, during the original Broadway run — which means you can see the original cast starring in their iconic roles.
Disney reportedly paid $75 million for the rights to bring Hamilton to the big screen, in the form of an original cast stage performance. The industry giant still plans to do a fully mounted big-screen version of Hamilton, but is not expected to jeopardize profits until the public is ready to sit in a crowded movie theater again.
In the Heights, another musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was supposed to run in theaters this summer, but that release was pushed to June of 2021 after public events became unfeasible.
The Hamilton musical won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Press photo by Joan Marcus, courtesy of Atlantic Records
About the Hamilton movie
The movie consists of live performances that were shot over three nights on Broadway, at the Richard Rodgers Theater. The filming took place in June 2016, when the original Broadway cast was still performing. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the musical, stars in the title role as Alexander Hamilton.
This is a big difference from other musicals, like CATS and Chicago that were adapted for the big screen with major changes to scripts and sets.
The release date of July 3rd is no accident. The award-winning musical chronicles the events leading up to and just after the American Revolution, when a new nation was born.
A note to parents:
The F-bombs have been removed from the movie.
How to watch the Hamilton movie
The film will stream exclusively on Disney Plus.
Disney Plus is an on-demand, ad-free, streaming service that features a huge collection of movies and TV shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, the Star Wars franchise, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox.
The streaming service costs $7.99 per month for a subscription with ads, and $13.99 without ads.
The 7-day free trial has been suspended, in advance of the Hamilton release date. So you’ll need to pay for a minimum of one month — but for that $8, you can watch the Hamilfilm as often as you’d like, and then cancel the service if you don’t renew for another month.
Considering theater tickets at the Fabulous Fox went for as much as $800 back in 2018, this is a real bargain.
The movie first became available to stream at 3 a.m. on July 3, 2020.
You can subscribe to Disney Plus here
Verizon Wireless customers can watch for FREE
Verizon Wireless customers with select plans can get 6 months of Disney Plus for FREE.
After the promo period, you’ll pay the going rate to continue the service. It will auto-renew on your Verizon bill unless you cancel.
Details here — be sure you read the fine print.
The Hamilton official trailer
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