Eva Longoria’s Cheetos Movie Is Already Making Streaming History
Eva Longoria's upcoming biopic Flamin' Hot is going to debut on both Disney+ and Hulu at the same time, the first simultaneous streaming original launch on two platforms.
Streaming services have done a great job at replacing cable and satellite as the in-home entertainment option, but now that every main studio in existence has jumped on board with the streaming approach, viewers find themselves paying the same amount of money for fewer channels. Even though those fewer channels arguably have more choices, much of what you see on those platforms are exclusive projects only available to subscribers. Now according to The Hollywood Reporter, Eva Longoria’s new film, Flamin’ Hot, is setting a new precedent by premiering on both Disney+ and the Disney-owned Hulu, marking the first crossover in the streaming industry.
According to the report, the film will make history as Disney will be looking to release it on both their flagship platform of Disney+ and on their sister platform catering to all ages in Hulu. While films that are produced by large studios that either don’t have their own streaming platforms or are available for rent could appear on multiple streaming platforms, there is little precedent to see original productions jumping from one to the other. For Eva Longoria’s directorial debut, it looks to be the first original content production to be seen cross-platform.
For Disney, this could likely be an experiment in the possibility of cross-pollinating their two platforms to see if they can get viewers from one to buy into the other. Testing the Disney+ waters with a biopic is an excellent way to see if those viewers crave that content. Of course, they had already begun adding some content they were not explicitly catering to when they added the Netflix Marvel shows Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher, all of which have been given mature ratings.
The Searchlight film follows the story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), who upended the food industry when he claimed to be the brains behind the immensely popular Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. He used his Mexican-American heritage and culinary experience while working as a janitor for Frito Lays to turn the once basic snack into a cultural phenomenon. Jesse Garcia, who brings the real-life innovator to life, is best known for his roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s The Avengers, Michael Bay‘s action thriller Ambulance, and the Netflix spin-off Narcos: Mexico.
Garcia and Eva Longoria are joined in the film by Monk alum Tony Shalhoub, who is gearing up to see his show revived for a film, Dennis Haysbert, who is best known as 24‘s President David Palmer (and, of course, the Allstate guy), and Matt Walsh of Ted and Into the Storm. Flamin’ Hot got a world premiere at SXSW, where it received a lot of praise; one critic said that it might be a movie about the invention of a snack, but it has actual substance, maybe even nutritional value.
This may be a bit of an experiment for Eva Longoria and Disney to see her directorial debut jump between two different streaming services. However, having your first film behind the camera get the benefit of double the audience can’t do anything but help.
