The theatrical and home video release is about to get smaller than ever for major releases. While theater owners are very prickly about major releases going to home video or VOD three months after a theatrical release, Universal will release their most recent major titles to rent soon. It’s due to the coronavirus, of course. Their big hit of the year, The Invisible Man, will be available to rent starting March 20th.
VOD
Starting Friday, Universal’s The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma will be available to rent on all major streaming platforms. Since they’re new theatrical releases, Universal will charge $20 per rental. A few weeks from now, the studio will release Trolls World Tour on the few screens available and VOD now as well.
A New Game Plan
The news marks a first for major releases. Never before have major theatrical releases gone this fast from theaters to VOD. Hopefully, a few of these titles will bring a little joy to people’s lives as the coronavirus keeps them indoors and out of theaters:
In a statement, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said the following:
“Universal Pictures has a broad and diverse range of movies with 2020 being no exception. Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable. We hope and believe that people will still go to the movies in theaters where available, but we understand that for people in different areas of the world that is increasingly becoming less possible.”
Rent The Invisible Man
It goes without saying, rent The Invisible Man. It is an exceptional horror-thriller. Blumhouse and Universal released the movie only weeks ago to massive success. The thriller, which only cost $10 million, made over $120 million worldwide. Since studios and theaters are taking a massive hit from the coronavirus, that box-office toll only would’ve gone up. At the cost of $20 a rental, though, maybe Universal will make up for lost dollars. The same goes for their new movie, The Hunt, which drummed up noise and outrage from the President and ring wing media last year. The thriller bombed in theaters over this weekend, however, which was the worst weekend at the box-office in 22 years.
Could This Become the Norm?
We may see more and more studios follow in Universal’s footsteps and release their newest movies early on VOD. Warner Bros., for example, just released the very good Ben Affleck drama, The Way Back, but it barely lasted in theaters after a weak opening and the coronavirus. The movie didn’t have a chance to ever have legs at the box-office, which is true for many other recent wide releases. Even the filmmaker behind Birds of Prey, Cathy Yan, said she’d want to see her comic book movie go to VOD during this epidemic.
Would VOD make up for any serious losses on some major titles? Maybe not, but it would help. From the sound of it, in their statement, NBC could stick with this strategy of theirs in the future:
NBCUniversal will continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve and will determine the best distribution strategy in each market when the current unique situation changes.
Many major releases have been postponed. The next Fast & Furious is the most extreme example, as it has been delayed over a year. Disney hasn’t even given new release dates to Mulan, The New Mutants, and Antlers yet. Knowing Disney, they won’t throw their movies out on VOD or Disney+, but Disney’s Onward was just released in theaters and is now struggling. If they put that title on Disney+, imagine how many new subscribers would sign up.
