Over the weekend, Disney made Frozen II available on Disney Plus months earlier than originally planned, and Universal Pictures is going a step further. Due to many stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak, Universal will make theatrical films available on demand for viewing in the comfort of your living room.
Universal Pictures has announced that movies will be made available at home on the same day they are globally released in theaters. That is going to begin on April 10, 2020, with DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour.
But wait, there’s more coming very soon.
Starting as early as Friday, March 20, 2020, Universal will make theatrical films available on- demand and the first three will be:
- The Hunt
- The Invisible Man
- Emma
The movies will be available on a number of on demand services such as iTunes and Google Play. Viewers will be able to rent them for a 48-hour period for a suggested retail price of $19.99.
“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,” said NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell. “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.”
The coronavirus outbreak has led to numerous theaters being temporarily shut down and many people not feeling it safe to leave their homes. This move by Universal is a drastic change from the longtime industry practice of waiting 90 days before a movie is released for home viewing after being released in theaters.
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