According to the Wall Street Journal, Universal’s test of premiering the new Trolls World Tour film direct to audiences as a video-on-demand rental has paid off. According to the tweet, the Trolls sequel earned Universal more revenue in three weeks of digital release that the original Trolls movie saw in five months of theatrical release. Warner Bros seems set to follow in Universal’s footsteps by releasing their new animated Scooby Doo movie “Scoob!” on May 15th.
Meanwhile feeling threatened by the new trend, AMC Theaters has announced that they will not play any Universal films in their theater chain from now on, and went on to threaten any other studio (glare at Warner Bros.) who follows suit that they will do the same to them as well. Of course, as I’ve predicted myself, in a post COVID-19 quarantine world, I don’t see movie theaters doing too well for a while. In fact, I see people ready to upgrade their own home theater experiences to further enjoy their home viewing experience rather than return to theaters.
In fact, it is entirely possible that in the aftermath of COVID-19, we might see movie theaters begin to vanish.