As movie theaters remain closed, studios have begun releasing certain titles on streaming platforms. Last month, Trolls World Tour went straight to VOD and broke records on its way to becoming the biggest digital debut ever. According to the latest reports, the Universal/DreamWorks Animation production is close to earning $100 million just off of PVOD.
It’s been such a success, in fact, that Universal announced shortly after that they would explore straight-to-streaming options in the future for certain titles and skip the theatrical run all together. Of course, this didn’t sit well with theater owners as major chains, including AMC and Regal, announced that they would ban all Universal releases from their cinemas in the future.
Another animated film, Scoob!, debuted last week as well, but it’s a more adult movie that’s garnering some serious attention following its digital release. Capone, the new Josh Trank flick starring Tom Hardy in the titular role, has so far earned more than $2.5 million after 10 days of being available, which is a new record for Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment.
With a reported budget of nearly $21 million, the film still has a chance to earn a return. A theatrical release would’ve helped in that regard, of course, but still, the studio is happy about its debut.
“We are incredibly impressed with the attention and interest surrounding Capone. Although we wish the film could have been premiered in theaters as originally intended, we could not be more thrilled with the success of the VOD home premiere release. Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, including the incredible support from our cable partners, this opening has surpassed all of our expectations and we look forward to seeing Capone continue to find its audience during these uncertain times,” said the Vertical Entertainment partners.
For micro-budget movies, the number one priority is finding an audience and there’s no better time than the present for that. Despite earning negative reviews, Capone is earning serious money, which means movie watchers are eager for new titles.
Theaters are beginning to re-open, but the majority of them are drive-ins. And they’re playing older movies as studios remain reluctant to release new films in theaters that are unable to seat to capacity. As far as entertainment goes, there’s never been a better time to be stuck at home than now. The amount of options are endless and as we’ve seen from Trolls and Capone, studios will continue down this path if it leads to profits. The way we consume movies may have changed forever and all it took was a global pandemic.