We’ve seen the Best Picture race slowly come into view thanks to a pandemic delayed deadline, but other categories are also coming into play. Best Animated Feature film already has a number of contenders that found audiences on PVOD with “Onward,” “Trolls World Tour” and “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run” while “Over the […]
Continue readingAlmost four months after indoor theaters shut down, a small fraction are reopening around the country. Drive-ins continue to lead grosses: IFC Films’ “The Wretched” is a standout success. That’s because IFC reports those drive-in numbers. Universal does not: they had the real #1 grosser for the eighth straight weekMeanwhile, at-home movie-watching habits are evolving […]
Continue readingAs Hollywood adjusts to the coronavirus pandemic, a number of film distributors have chosen to scrap their theatrical release plans and launch certain titles on streaming services instead. That raised the question of whether those movies, such as “Trolls World Tour” or “Capone” or “The King of Staten Island,” would be eligible for Academy Awards. […]
Continue readingSince no one had anything else to watch while quarantining at home, Trolls World Tour became a VOD sensation that might usher in the death of movie theaters. At least that’s what the National Association of Theater Owners wants you to think. But when you see what the Trolls World Tour Honest Trailer has to […]
Continue readingIgnore the weird Simon Cowell gags. Despite its rocky start, Tony Cervone’s “Scoob!,” eventually moves past squeezing in gags about modern tastemakers (do kids even know who Simon Cowell is?) to become a Part origin story of the Mystery, Inc. team, part Hanna-Barbera homage, the animated feature is a charming enough diversion that adds to […]
Continue readingWith “Scoob!,” Warner Bros. Animation launches a new Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe built around the crime-fighting Mystery Inc. teenage gang and its lovable Great Dane. The plan was to release the franchise’s first CG-animated feature theatrically on May 15, but, of course, the pandemic intervened, so it’s going straight to VOD instead.Whether or not “Scoob!” taps […]
Continue readingThe International Union of Cinemas (Unic) has said the lucrative Pvod release of “Trolls World Tour” should not be used a reference point to “redesign” the business model around releasing.The Brussels-based organization, which represents European cinema operators, spoke out in response to growing tensions between exhibitors and Universal over the straight-to-vod release of “Trolls World […]
Continue readingAMC Theatres has hit hard at Universal Pictures, announcing it will no longer play any of the studio’s films in the wake of NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell’s promise to use premium VOD while films are still in theaters.Universal used the Pvod format to release “Trolls World Tour” on April 10 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic […]
Continue readingUniversal’s gamble to bypass a theatrical release for “Trolls World Tour” and release it on demand instead appears to have paid off — big time. On Tuesday, the studio reported that the sequel to the 2016 animated hit has scored nearly 5 million rentals since its April 10 debut and earned close to $100 million […]
Continue readingUntil someone decides to follow in the footsteps of Universal’s “
Continue reading