“Trolls World Tour” Cast Caught Off Guard

It turns out it wasn’t just exhibitors caught off guard by Universal Pictures’ “Trolls World Tour” premium VOD experiment, turns out the film’s stars were also taken by surprise – and aren’t happy about it.

THR reports that voice stars Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick were not informed ahead of the March 16th announcement of the film being made available to rent for $20 online.

The reason this is an issue is because compensation for stars in animated films often ties to box office bonuses, and with no theatrical release box-office to speak of – the stars’ reps are now asking for them to be paid.

The trade also reports that despite the film’s almost $100 million domestic success in its first three weeks of on-demand release, the movie is still millions in the red and “may never make a dime” says some industry sources for the trade.