Disney+ Just Deleted ‘Crater,’ A Brand New Sci-Fi Movie That Premiered Less Than 2 Months Ago

Disney+ has done it again.

The streaming platform just deleted the 2023 movie Crater, which recently premiered on the streamer this past May. That means the sci-fi movie spent less than two months in the public after its release.

Streaming platforms have seemingly been taking turns at slashing their content libraries and removing entire series and movies without much notice.

Disney+ is certainly not the first to make such a controversial move. Paramount+ recently canceled and removed the Grease prequel series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies just three weeks after the Season 1 finale aired.

And more movies and series are expected to be axed from Disney+ in the coming months. Disney CFO Christine McCarthy announced during an earnings call in May that the platform would be “removing certain content from streaming platforms.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company will take a $1.5 billion tax write-down because of the content it is removing.

Crater is a sci-fi family adventure starring McKenna Grace and Scott Mescudi, otherwise known as rapper Kid Cudi. The film follows a young boy who is growing up in a lunar colony who decides to explore a legendary crater with his group of best friends before one of them has to relocate to another planet. The film premiered in May 2023 to a mixed reception (64% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a “SKIP IT” from Decider’s own John Serba).

This is the latest movie to be removed from Disney+. In May, the company removed Willow, Dollface, and over 50 other titles in May. Much like Paramount+ has claimed, McCarthy stated at the time that these decisions were being made in line with the company’s “approach to content curation.”

The decision to remove entire series and movies from streaming platforms has left creators at a loss of how to proceed with their careers.

Eliza Skinner, head writer on the series Earth to Ned, was not given prior notice when her series was removed from Disney+ in May.

“We have no idea how to plan ahead in any direction because it’s very hard to tell what’s going on,” Skinner told The Hollywood Reporter. “If you go into a museum, no one says, ‘People don’t stop at this painting for very long anymore — let’s throw it in the trash.’ Or if you did, we would all have to assume, ‘Well, that painting is worthless.’”

More movies and series are expected to be culled from the streaming platform in the third quarter.

It is currently unclear if Crater will become available on another streaming platform.