Disney-owned digital movie marketplace Movies Anywhere is now available on Xbox consoles, giving users the ability to stream movies they own with their friends. Movies Anywhere is already available on a number of key platforms, such as mobile devices and smart TVs, but this is the first time the app is natively available on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One with all of its features.
Xbox has had Movies Anywhere integration for the last several years, but not through the actual app. Those who purchased films on the Microsoft Store on Xbox could sync their libraries with other apps (like iTunes and Amazon Video) and vice versa, allowing them to watch all their movies through one of those apps, but the full features of the Movies Anywhere app itself have never been fully integrated on Xbox. It was simply a convenient way to access movies across a number of services, without having to micromanage multiple digital libraries.
Movies Anywhere is now officially on Xbox as a native app, which allows users full access to all of the features of the service. On top of things like an AI that helps Movies Anywhere users choose what to watch, Xbox users can now use the Watch Together feature to watch movies with their friends remotely. In the late 2000s, the Xbox 360 had a similar feature that allowed people to watch Netflix and other movie apps together, but it eventually went away.
With the pandemic and other barriers often preventing people from gathering to watch things together in person, Movies Anywhere will likely be very useful to Xbox owners. The app provides a unique experience among streaming platforms, given it doesn’t punish users for purchasing movies elsewhere, allowing a bridge between platforms like iTunes, Vudu, and other services so that users’ digital libraries aren’t scattered. Although not every movie studio supports Movies Anywhere, many of the big ones do.
While subscription services like Netflix are the dominant streaming platforms, those willing to rent or buy films to watch with friends may enjoy Movies Anywhere. Disney is currently committed to exclusive theatrical windows for its remaining 2021 films, so Xbox users shouldn’t expect to watch Eternals via the Watch Together feature when it releases this November. That said, when it comes to home video a couple months later, users will have the opportunity to have their own virtual watch parties.
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