‘Birds of Prey’, ‘The Invisible Man’ Lead Early VOD Releases Due to Coronavirus

I know I brought this up before, but honestly, I didn't think it would actually happen.  On Episode 307 of the podcast, I talked about how Sony should release Bloodshot early on Video On Demand due to the social distancing (and now closure) in theaters across the country.  After a lackluster box office weekend this past weekend, some studios are starting to wise up and accelerate their plans.

Universal Pictures was the first to announce that some of their titles, recently released in theaters, would be available to VOD customers early. The Invisible Man, Emma and The Hunt will all be available for in home viewing starting as early as this Friday.  The only catch is, this would be a 48 hour rental for about $19.99 according to Deadline.  Before you see that and think it's too much, just do some quick math and you'll see that is easily less than the typical movie going experience would cost.  Trolls World Tour will also be made available on VOD at the same time as it's theatrical release date of April 10th.

Shortly after that, Warner Bros. Pictures jumped on board with Birds of Prey and The Gentlemen.  It looks like those are more likely to be available on Tuesday, March 24th.  The price point appears to be the same, and after doing some digging, the $19.99 would be for UltraHD Digital, which is pretty good.  It's also unclear, based on what I have seen, wheather these will be rental price or priced to own.  If it is to own the movie, to me, that makes it an even bigger bargain given the timetable.

Could this be a shift in the way that we watch movies?  Is this the beginning of the end for traditional, big screen theaters?  I'll dive deeper into that on Episode 308 of the podcast.  I will provide updates as they come in to clarify any details.

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures