Geekery: Universal & Disney Make Movies Available on Digital Early
With theaters shutting down, profits in the pits, and movie goers stuck at home the studios are moving titles to digital much faster than normal.
If you have Disney+ you’ve likely noticed that Frozen II (it was set to be released on the service in June) showed up this morning ahead of schedule, and they’ve added Rise of Skywalker to VOD. With all of the closures (AMC, Alamo, and Regal have all closed markets) and the bad box office this last weekend I’m curious to see if they offer Call of the Wild and Onward ahead of schedule, as well.
Universal is making movies available for a 48-hour rental period for an msrp of $19.99 (international markets should be around that, as well). The first titles that will be available starting March 20th:
And there will be more to follow depending on closures and quarantines. No news on whether or not F9 will be released this way, but I have a feeling they’ll stick with the date set next year (sorry, folks). NBCUniversal’s CEO had this to say about the move…
“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.”
Also out in theaters right now that we may see show up on VOD are Bloodshot (Columbia) and The Way Back (Warner Brothers). It’s a smart way to at least recoup some budget immediately – and a goodwill gesture to all of us stuck at home who have had tickets cancelled by theater chains.
