Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton' Drives Download Surge on Disney+
Streaming service Disney+ had received a 72.4 percent higher download across the globe when "Hamilton" made its debut on July 3.
Based on a Fox report, Disney+ recorded 266,084 downloads in the U.S. during the holiday weekend. Its application was downloaded for the first time by one million users on July 3-5.
The estimates showed a 79 percent increase from the previous weekend, according to Sensor Tower.
A Disney+ spokesperson refuses to talk about third-party data and has no intention of releasing its figures right away.
Although app downloads are impressive, it is not the same as subscriptions. Subscriptions are essential to the company.
Sensor Tower Mobile Insights Head Randy Nelson said that the debut of "Hamilton" increased the streaming service.
"Our data indicate that Hamilton has resulted in a greater increase in users for the service than any other original content added to it so far this year," Nelson was quoted in L.A. Times.
"Hamilton" was supposed to be released in movie theaters in fall 2021, but the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced theaters to shut down.
Disney decided to release the film on its streaming service. Its monthly subscription costs around $7 to $13.
The streaming service paid $75 million for its rights to the filmed version of the Broadway production. Hamilton was produced in New York with the original cast in 2016.
"Hamilton" on Broadway
The Tony-acclaimed production was initially launched on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2005 summer. Tickets cost around $1,000 based on major ticket-selling websites.
Original Broadway cast presents Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton. He was also the writer and composer-lyricist of the production.
Leslie Odom, Jr. won the Tony for his performance. He was Hamilton's enemy.
Other known artists of this production are Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise, Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jonathan Groff, Chris Jackson, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Javier Muñoz.
Reviews on "Hamilton"
"Hamilton" got 16 nominations. Out of the 16 nominations, it bagged 11 awards that include Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The Broadway musical has also earned positive reviews from different critics.
A Boston Globe review noted that director Thomas Kail brilliantly staged the performance. At the same time, Andy Blankenbuehler presented lively choreography.
The review added that "Hamilton" aims to tell a story with a "present-day urgency."
"Hamilton'' is infused with reminders that we are a nation of immigrants; in one defiantly knowing nod to that hot-button issue," a quote from the Boston Globe review.
Entertainment Weekly review said, "Hamilton" gives several intense solo moments for female casts that brings both "fierceness and fragility to keenly drawn supporting roles."
"Miranda's singular gift for storytelling and wordplay makes even the Federalist Papers sound sexy, but the play's intrigue comes mostly from its potent stew of friendship and romance and outsize ambition," the review noted.
However, the New York Post gives out mixed reviews. It states that Hamilton might be smart, inventive, and wildly energetic.
But "Hamilton" is not revolutionary.
N.Y. Post added that there are scenes in which Miranda's limitations as an actor are obvious.
Indiewire claimed that "Hamilton" would not be heading to the Oscars. It is a recorded performance.
If you are interested in "Hamilton," check out this trailer: YouTube.
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