NEWS

Universal Making �Invisible Man�, �The Hunt� & �Emma� Available In Home On Friday As Exhibition Braces For Shutdown; �Trolls� Sequel To Hit Cinemas & VOD Easter Weekend

March 16, 2020

In an unprecedented crunch of the theatrical window as several markets across the U.S. close down in response to safety coronavirus along with worldwide, NBCUniversal’s Universal Pictures is officially making its current movies in cinematic release –Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man and The Hunt, and Focus Features’ Emma — available in homes as early as this Friday for on-demand 48-hour rental at the suggested price of $19.99 each. This is both for domestic and offshore markets where the titles are in release. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, made the announcement this morning.

In addition, with the outlook of the theatrical marketplace unclear, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour, which was scheduled to be the first theatrical comeback title down the road on Easter weekend April 10, will now go day-and-date in homes and on the big screen. Trolls World Tour doesn’t roll out widely offshore until April 20, and in those markets, the sequel will also be available for VOD rental as well as cinemas. Already, Trolls World Tour has a large marketing campaign underway, including support from the conglom’s Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky’s cross-company Symphony. Trolls World Tour opened over the weekend in Singapore and Malaysia to a lackluster $200,000.