Searchlight Pictures has set Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut Flamin’ Hot for a simultaneous release on Hulu and Disney+ on June 9.
The first-ever dual platform release by Disney follows the film having a world premiere at SXSW. Flamin’ Hot will debut on Disney+ internationally.
Disney-owned Searchlight has seen other movie titles like Fire Island, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and Not Okay go straight to Hulu as a sister brand to the family-friendly Disney+ as it became a home for more adult fare from Disney brands. And Longoria’s rags-to-riches film had been expected to go straight to Hulu heading into SXSW.
The release of Flamin’ Hot on both Hulu and Disney+ could also serve as something of an experiment for the company, which has in recent months been adding more general entertainment fare to Disney+ (as opposed to Hulu, where most of that programming has tended to live).
By releasing the film on both platforms, the company can gauge engagement and see whether the Hulu audience is more receptive to that type of film, or whether a movie without the association with Marvel or Pixar or Star Wars can find success on Disney+.
While it is still too early to know whether Disney decides to keep Hulu or try and offload it, the Flamin’ Hot experiment could provide a data point to help it along, one way or the other.
“I’m so excited for the world to see Flamin’ Hot on these two streaming platforms making this universal, inspirational story accessible to an even wider audience. Now everyone can celebrate the joy, power and heart of this film that also happens to uplift Latinos both in front of and behind the camera,” director Longoria said in a statement about the release of the film produced by DeVon Franklin.
Flamin’ Hot tells the true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) who as a Frito-Lay janitor disrupted the food industry by channeling his Mexican-American heritage to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop culture phenomenon.
The film is a Franklin Entertainment Production, written by Lewis Colick and Linda Yvette Chávez.
The movie also stars Jesse Garcia as Richard, Annie Gonzalez as his wife, Judy, Emilio Rivera as Richard’s father Nacho, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, Matt Walsh, Bobby Soto and Pepe Serna.
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