UNIVERSAL PICTURES WILL RELEASE MOVIES ON VOD ON SAME DAY AS THEATRE RELEASE

Universal Pictures will make movies available on the same day they are released in theaters worldwide. DreamWorks Animation film “Trolls World Tour,” which is scheduled to open in the United States on April 10. The movies will be available for rental via iTunes, Amazon, and other digital platforms.

Viewers can watch new releases such as “The Invisible Man,” “The Hunt,” and “Emma” as soon as this Friday, 20 March. Each movie will be offered as a 48-hour on-demand rental for the suggested price of $19.99 in the U.S., and equivalent prices in international markets. Warner Bros. followed the change, announcing that they will put “Birds of Prey” available for VOD earlier than scheduled. “Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenging distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shell said in a statement.

After a weekend of poor sales at the box office, the lowest they’ve been in over 20 years, the decision was announced by NBCUniversal on Monday regarding the change in traditional practices of keeping a movie exclusively in theaters for an average 90-day window before releasing it on other platforms. Companies such as AMC, Regal, Alamo Drafthouse and Landmark released a statement on Tuesday in response to the theater closures, announcing that it’s their form of measure to keep the Coronavirus from spreading. The change doesn't apply to the studio's entire 2020 calendar. Decisions regarding other titles and the duration of the policy have yet to be made. 

It’s the first time that Legacy Studios have acted against the exclusive theatrical window, but NATO assures that this will not become a new normal. The National Association of Theatre Owners confidently expressed the plan for the exhibition industry to rebound once the coronavirus pandemic subsides. NATO also believes that several postponed films will be moved into new theatrical slots, which already happened with the James Bond film “No Time to Die.” “To avoid catastrophic losses to the studios, these titles must have the fullest possible theatrical release around the world,” NATO'S statement read. “While one or two releases may forgo theatrical release, it is our understanding from discussions with distributors that the vast majority of deferred releases will be rescheduled for theatrical release as life returns to normal.”