Gerard Butler's Greenland Skipping Theatrical Release, Going Straight to PVOD

Yet another major film is making its way to TV screens around the country, skipping a theatrical release in the wake of COVID-19. Greenland, the end-of-the-world disaster thriller starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin, was supposed to hit theaters this summer, but was delayed as theaters remained closed due to the pandemic. Now, with theaters still struggling, the film will be moved to on-demand options, rather than delayed to next year.

There hasn't been an official on-demand release date announced for Greenland at this time, but it appears as though it could arrive this month. Amazon recently revealed the list of new titles making their way to VOD in October, and Greenland found itself on that list. According to Amazon, Greenland will be available for purchase on October 13th and for rent on October 27th. Given that those dates haven't yet been confirmed by the studio, the date could be inaccurate.

In addition to the move to on-demand, Deadline is reporting that HBO has shelled out a serious amount of money to gain the pay TV and streaming rights for Greenland, in a time when new content is hard to come by. While STX will control the PVOD window for the movie, HBO will control the streaming release. The premium network paid between $20 million and $30 million for Greenland, and will be putting it on TV and HBO Max early next year.

Greenland has already opened in some markets around the world, in countries where theaters have been able to reopen safely and have seen people returning to see movies. The international rollout will continue in the months to come, despite the on-demand release here in the United States. This will be the second STX film to skip a theatrical release this year, following My Spy, which sold to Amazon Prime and was a substantial hit for the streaming service.

Greenland is directed by Ric Roman Waugh and features Butler and Baccarin as a married couple trying to save the lives of their family during a catastrophic event.

Are you looking forward to catching Greenland on-demand this year? Let us know in the comments!