Trolls World Tour has become 2020's most important movie release, as it skips its theatrical run entirely to debut on VOD. Trolls World Tour is one of the only major studio films left for a while, as most blockbusters have been pushed back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trolls World Tour has forgone a delay, however, and is instead releasing directly to on-demand platforms. Home theater is something that has been hotly debated for some time now, so this is a major shakeup to the moviegoing experience.
The first film to move release dates as a result of COVID-19 was MGM's No Time to Die; other studios followed quickly thereafter, shifting their films to open towards the end of this year or, in Sony's case, delaying all their blockbusters to 2021. The effect of coronavirus can be felt all over the industry, with several noteworthy movie and TV productions being put on hold. With this year's cinematic calendar being drastically re-shuffled in the last few weeks, studios have looked to digital as their savior and as a means of keeping things going for the time being. Disney released Frozen 2 on Disney+ 3 months early and Universal revealed they'd be putting their new releases up for rental too, just shortly after they released in theaters across the globe.
As well as announcing their list of titles, Universal also revealed that Trolls World Tour would be available as a part of this selection - releasing on digital platforms the same day as it was supposed to open in cinemas. The sequel was initially brought forward when No Time to Die vacated its spot and is now available to watch online for $19.99. Of course, this is a major move from Universal. Whilst most films are delaying their releases to still have a chance at a theatrical run, Trolls World Tour is choosing to avoid that entirely. Disney has since followed suit, reporting that Artemis Fowl will be debuting straight on Disney+ in the near future too. With home entertainment features rapidly modernizing, this is something theaters have feared for some time: redundancy. The validity of movie chains has been contested for a few years now; with coronavirus forcing everyone indoors, studios are beginning to test home viewing more than ever.
While Trolls World Tour may not be the biggest film of the year, it is one of the most important for this reason. Being the first major studio release to debut right on VOD means that other studios will look to its success - or failure - to gauge how well home viewing works. Disney has decided to test the waters too, sacrificing one of their smaller films to streaming - but pushing their tentpole films for theatrical release.
With films like The New Mutants that don't have a new release date, Trolls World Tour could navigate their future. Netflix found success debuting films online with small theatrical windows for those that wanted the moviegoing experience. However, their limited run for The Irishman also displeased fans. But if it proves to work well for a major studio like Universal, who knows just how drastically it could change the theatrical model going forward? It may take time for its success to run its course, but the release of Trolls World Tour straight to VOD instead of cinemas could be the start of a game-changing shift for Hollywood.
