AlthoughDisney+just released in November, movies are already disappearing according toPolygon. As early as January 1, some U.S.-based Disney+ users noticed thatfilms had suddenly gone missingfrom the streaming library without notice.
So far, the list of titles removed includesDr. Dolittle,Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,Home Alone,Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,The Sandlot,Flicka,Strange Magic, andThe Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration, as well asThe Shaggy DogandGarfield 2: A Tail of Two Kitties, which were quietly removed in 2019.
Prior to the platform’s release, Disneytold Comicbook.comthat, unlike many other streaming services, Disney+ would not have a “rotating slate” of licensed movies each month. However, that doesn’t appear to be entirely accurate given the quiet removal of these films less than two months after launch.
As The Verge’s Julia Alexander reported, most of the removals stem from the complicated licensing deals surrounding these films, a consequence of Disney’s many acquisitions over the past few years — especially Fox’s extensive library. Disney sources also told Polygon that films would likely rejoin Disney+ once those licenses expire.
https://twitter.com/loudmouthjulia/status/1212868685511188480
While Disney initially promised that the entireSignature Collectionof classics likeBeauty and the Beast,Bambi,Peter Pan, andSleeping Beautywould live on the platform in perpetuity, that promise does not appear to cover anything else in the library.
Indeed, some films are already slated to leave Disney+ in the future. According toBloomberg, major Disney films likeStar Wars: The Last Jedi,Black Panther,Coco, and other late-decade titles are set to return to Netflix starting “around 2026.” Although it’s not confirmed, that seems to suggest that they would not be available on Disney+ simultaneously. Additionally, some clever Disney+ users discovered that other films hadhidden expiration dates, which may indicate the end of other licensing deals and contracts, even though Disney owns all of the titles on Disney Plus.
Most#disneyplusmovies now have an expiration date set in 2020, with some in 2021pic.twitter.com/J28V7p3bcD
— Stitch Kingdom has BUM WORMS (@stitchkingdom)June 01, 2025
It’s unclear when or ifHome Alone,The Sandlot, and the other films in this recent removal will return to the streaming platform but it seems like they will not be the last movies to disappear suddenly. For now, it seems that complications with licensing deals may result in some variance in the Disney+ library over the next few years.
