During a time when many film studios are struggling, NBCUniversal’s Universal Pictures may have found a way around the current cinematic issues. The studio is planning to drop its current selection of cinematic releases on digital platforms as early as Friday, March 20th. These films include horror hits like The Invisible Man and The Hunt, as well as the Focus Features film Emma.
The films are going to be available in homes as early as this Friday for an on-demand 48-hour rental at the suggested price of $19.99 each. This is both for domestic and offshore markets where the titles are in release. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, made the announcement this morning.
Reports also say that Universal Pictures will forgo a theatrical release for the film Trolls World Tour, and will release that film digitally during Easter weekend. Trolls World Tour won’t see an international release until April 20th, and in those markets the Trolls sequel will also be available for VOD rental as well as cinemas.
At the time of reporting, the theatrical VOD day-and-date release policy presented here isn’t the studio’s business model for future titles beyond Trolls World Tour, nor have any other studios announced similar plans.
