As movie houses across the globe continue to close down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Universal is considering to make a number of its current movie lineup for digital rental for $20, which is about P1,000.
The digital rental would last for 48 hours. Two days.
The Universal movies that are available are: The Invisible Man, The Hunt, Emma, and Trolls World Tour—the sequel to the animated movie, Trolls.
The main reason why theaters is still a thing is it makes more money than being put on TV, streaming, or Blueray. But should Universal push this solution, even temporarily until the entire pandemic blows off, it’s interesting to see how will other movie studios will react.
Several movies, including Disney’s Mulan, Fast & Furious 9, and No Time to Die, have been delayed. Film production across studios have been put on hold as well.
One of the most anticipated blockbusters is Marvel’s Black Widow. So far, we haven’t heard any official updates on that movie’s status, and we can only speculate that it’s because it’s initial release will be on the last week of April, and Disney is still considering options.
It’s still interesting to know what would Disney do. Technically, they can still release Black Widow under the confines of Disney+, the company’s own streaming platform. It will surely entice more people to subscribe but at the same time, making it digitally accessible will almost as immediately spawn illegal copies online.
I suppose, everything hinges on Universal’s move. If it turned out a success, there’s no reason for other studios to come up with their own alternatives to launch their movies.