Due to the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, movie studios are scrambling to figure out how best to bring their films to the fans, and how to make as much money as possible to recoup the losses they’ll be facing. Some movies are being delayed until later this year, or even early 2021. Others have been given very early on-demand release dates, allowing fans to watch them at home, since most movie theaters are closed for the foreseeable future.
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A few studios have already started moving their newer movies to on-demand platforms, including Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Some of these moves have seen films get their VOD dates pushed up by a couple of weeks, some have been moved to streaming services much earlier than expected, and some are even getting full digital releases.
It can be hard to keep track of which movies are going to be released early and when, so we’ve created a quick guide to help out. Below is a list of every movie that has been handed and early VOD release in the wake of the coronavirus. We will continue updating the list as more movies are given digital releases, so be sure to bookmark this one and keep checking back for more info.
Let’s start with the most talked about movie of the last few months, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which is now available to own digitally.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
On Friday, Disney made the announcement to move up the digital release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker would be available for purchase digitally three days earlier than expected. After the announcement was made, the movie was immediately available.
Frozen 2
Unlike the other movies on this list, Frozen 2 was already available to purchase and rent on-demand. However, Disney made the decision to move up its release date on Disney+ by three months so that families could enjoy it without having to pay extra. Frozen 2 arrived on Disney+ on Sunday.
Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey was originally set to arrive on VOD platforms in April, but Warner Bros. moved up the date by a couple of weeks so that DC fans could watch the movie again and again. Cathy Yan’s fan-favorite flick will be available to purchase beginning March 24th.
The Gentlemen
Warner Bros. made the same move with Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen as it did with Birds of Prey. Originally slated for an April on-demand debut, the movie will now be available next week.
Trolls World Tour
Of all the movies given early on-demand dates, Trolls World Tour is easily the biggest. Not that’s it’s the most popular movie of the bunch, or that it would’ve had the biggest box office returns. What makes this a big deal is that Trolls is a major release for Universal and it’s being released on digital platforms the day it was supposed to arrive in theaters. Trolls World Tour will be available to rent digitally on April 10th.
Invisible Man
Invisible Man has been one of the true hits of 2020 so far, along with Sony’s Bad Boys for Life, so it’s exciting to see it made available digitally just a few short weeks after its theatrical debut. Horror fans will be able to rent Leigh Whannell’s modern take on the classic monster starting on Friday, March 20th.
The Hunt
The Hunt was just released in theaters this past weekend, but it stands to make almost no money given the historically low box office and the closure of theaters. So releasing it on-demand is definitely the right call. The Hunt, like Invisible Man, will be available this Friday.
