With cinemas around the world either closed or limited to such a capacity it won’t make a dent at the box-office, Universal Pictures has made a decision that could arguably change history.
Going even further than Disney’s moving up of “Frozen II” to Disney+ by three months, Universal has announced it will make its movies available on home entertainment on the same day as the film’s global theatrical release.
This kicks off with DreamWorks Animation’s “Trolls World Tour” which is scheduled to debut in cinemas on April 10th in the United States and will now be available to rent or buy on the same day on services like iTunes, Amazon and VUDU.
That’s not all though. The company will also make its three films that are currently in cinemas available on-demand starting from Friday, March 20th. These films include “The Hunt” which opened last week along with the recent “The Invisible Man” and “Emma” adaptations which all only opened less than a month ago.
In other words, Premium VOD is here and it’s going to be cheaper than has previously been suggested. The films will reportedly be made available for a 48-hour rental period at a suggested retail price of $19.99 in the United States and for roughly the same price in international markets.
The announcement marks a major blow to movie theaters who have fought tooth-and-nail against any attempts to shorten the three-month theatrical window, but with the domestic box office plummeting to a two-decade low last weekend and with many weeks and possibly months ahead of cinemas either being closed down or severely crippled, the old ways of doing things may be gone for good.
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said in a statement: “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.”
Source: Universal Pictures
