VOD Releases: Will these VOD Releases Rescue the Movie Industry?
March 26, 2020
With the COVID-19 outbreak causing mass shutdowns of non-essential businesses in a lot of places, theatrical releases are, for the most part, non-existent. However, the movie industry is trying to rapidly adapt to this and so are we. They are fast-tracking lots of theatrical releases to VOD and we will be expanding our coverage of VOD releases. Like last week, there are a lot of fast-tracked theatrical releases coming out this week, but we also have the more typical VOD premieres to talk about. Of the former category, Bad Boys for Life is clearly leading the way, although Birds of Prey is coming out on Friday rather than Tuesday, so it gets a jump on the action. Of the latter category, Banana Split is the film that I’m most interested in seeing. Sadly, there are so many major VOD releases this week that I fear it will slip between the cracks.
Bad Boys for Life - Reviews - Amazon VOD, Amazon VOD (with Extras), or Amazon VOD (4K Ultra HD)
Banana Split - Reviews - Apple TV
Birds of Prey - Reviews - Amazon VOD
Bloodshot - Reviews - Amazon VOD or Amazon VOD (4K Ultra HD)
Clemency - Reviews - Amazon VOD
Dolittle - Reviews - Amazon VOD
I Still Believe - Reviews - Amazon VOD
Just Mercy - Reviews - Amazon VOD
The Road to Wellville - Reviews - Amazon VOD
Sonic The Hedgehog - Reviews - Video on Demand
Vivarium - Reviews - Vudu
The Way Back - Reviews - Amazon VOD
This film is the biggest box office hit of 2020 and it will remain so for potentially a long time. It hits VOD on Tuesday and should be the biggest hit on VOD the week it comes out, and possible for several weeks after that, as there are not a lot of competitors on the horizon. The VOD fast-tracking is mostly complete after this week.
April was just dumped by her boyfriend, Nick. She finds comfort in her new best friend, Clara, who just happens to be dating Nick. The film’s Tomatometer Score is excellent, but its average rating is just under 7 out of 10, so it is another case of the vast majority of critics liking a movie, but few of them loving it. That said, this is perfect for VOD.
This film did well with critics, but greatly missed the mark at the box office. It wasn’t a very expensive movie to make, so it could have broken even eventually, had the global pandemic not cut its theatrical run short. To be fair, it still has a chance of breaking even, but the competition for theatrical releases on the VOD market is intense right now.
This film was originally planned to be the first in a comic book extended universe; however, behind-the-scenes dealing ended that plan before the release ever happened. Then the film struggled at the box office and its chances of getting a sequel died as a result. Its reviews are rather weak, so I don’t think people would have been clamoring for a sequel even if it had made a serious profit.
One of two Oscar-bait courtroom dramas to come out at the end of last year. This one earned better reviews, but weaker box office score. Its reviews weren’t Oscar-worthy, but giving it a rental on VOD is worth spending the time and money.
A troubled production turned Robert Downey, Jr.’s dream project into a nightmare. It did well enough at the box office that if it had had a reasonable production budget, then it would have broken even, eventually. However, it didn’t have a reasonable production budget and as it is, unless morbid curiosity drives its VOD rentals, it will lose a fortune.
A faith-based romantic drama that didn’t wow critics, but did very well with its target audience. There’s not enough crossover appeal for a blind buy, but a VOD rental isn’t a bad idea for fans of romantic dramas.
This is the second Oscar-bait courtroom drama to come out at the end of last year that hit VOD this week. That’s a strange coincidence. This one did better at the box office, but Clemency earned better reviews.
A comedy from 1994 about Dr. Kellogg. Yes, the corn flakes guy. The man had some... interesting thoughts on health and the film has a fantastic cast. However, the end result is mediocre and doesn’t live up to its potential.
One of the best video game movies of all time. It comes out on Tuesday on VOD and I think I should get a screener before the weekend. I had low expectations for this movie, but people I know who have seen both this and Detective Pikachu, my current favorite video game movie, have said the two movies are very close in terms of quality. I might have a new favorite video game movie.
This film’s reviews are on the border between merely good and good enough for limited release. Since it doesn’t have to deal with a limited theatrical release, this likely won’t be an issue. On the other hand, there’s a lot of competition on VOD, mainly from wide releases fast-tracked to VOD in the wake of Covid-19, so we will have to wait and see if any of the smaller titles get noticed.
An inspirational sports movie that did well with critics, so hopefully it will find a receptive audience on VOD, since its theatrical release was cut short.
Filed under: Home Market Releases, VOD Releases, Bad Boys For Life, Dolittle, Just Mercy, Sonic The Hedgehog, Bloodshot, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Banana Split, I Still Believe, Clemency, Vivarium, The Way Back, How to Train Your Dragon, Robert Downey, Jr., Anthony Hopkins, Dylan Sprouse, Liana Liberato, Hannah Marks