Is There A New Normal In Hollywood?

By Matt Chieco

Many movie theaters have been closed due to the coronavirus. The unprecedented event has caused the box office to hit zero for the first time in 26 years, and has made Hollywood reevaluate the traditional movie watching experience.

With movies being delayed to late 2020 or 2021, Trolls World Tour is staying put with its April 10th release date (primarily on digital and a handful of drive-in theaters still open across the country) to some push back from theater owners. Could this be the start of something new?

Universal/DreamWorks had spent almost $100 million dollars on Trolls World Tour, not including the amount they spent on marketing/advertising. Although after recent animated sequels like The Lego Movie: The Second Part, The Secret Life Of Pets 2, and The Angry Birds Movie 2 not performing on the same level as its predecessors, the studio might be trying to capitalize on the times we're living in. Families with kids stuck at home, looking for new and entertaining movies to watch.

Other studios are ditching the theaters for digital too. Paramount sold The Lovebirds to Netflix, STX gave My Spy to Amazon Studios, and Disney sent Artemis Fowl straight to Disney+. Bob Iger even suggesting more of Disney's planned theatrical releases could be heading to Disney+ if theaters remain closed for much longer.

With the budget as high as it was on Trolls World Tour, the movie may not be able make a profit on digital, but movies that would have a hard time making a strong presence in the theaters may benefit from this type of movie watching experience.

Trolls World Tour is out now for 48 hour rental and in select theaters.