The spreading coronavirus pandemic have forced movie theatres to shut down for an indefinite period, breaking the tradition and making many movies available to watch at home.
Universal’s Trolls World Tour will be the first movie it will simultaneously debut online and in theaters on 10 April. Other films that are currently in theaters, like The Invisible Man, The Hunt and Emma will be available for a 48-hour rental in this week.
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell said in a statement: “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.”
Trolls World Tour was expected to be a decent performer when it arrived in theaters in April. The DreamWorks Animation film, inspired by the popular toy and starring Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, is a sequel to the 2016 movie that grossed $154 million in the United States.