The entertainment industry continues to evolve due to the coronavirus. With virtually all of the biggest markets closed down, leading to a record low box office last weekend, we’re seeing studios completely break from the theatrical release window. The latest to do so is Warner Bros., who will release the Suicide Squad spinoff Birds of Prey and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman digitally beginning March 24th, moved up from mid-April.
This comes after Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan had tweeted her support for just such a move earlier in the day…
I would not be opposed to putting Birds of Prey on VOD earlier. https://t.co/TrKynikHLx
— Cathy Yan (@CathyYan) March 16, 2020
Universal was a leader on this, making available current theatrical films The Invisible Man, EMMA, and The Hunt on digital beginning this Friday. Included in that will be the upcoming sequel, Trolls: World Tour, which can be rented digitally the same day it hits theaters on April 10th.
For Birds of Prey, this could be the kick the superhero film needed. One of the most anticipated movies of 2020, the film failed to find the audience Warner Bros. expected, earning just $199M worldwide. The Gentleman actually did quite well when it opened in January, finishing its run with $115M worldwide and some of Ritchie’s best critical reviews.
As someone who has already paid to see Harley Quinn kick ass three times, I’m pretty hyped to do it again so soon.
Birds of Prey will reportedly cost $19.99 to purchase on Amazon and ITunes, then be made available to rent in April.
Big news tonight: #BirdsOfPrey and Guy Ritchie's #TheGentlemen move up their digital release dates to 3/24 from mid-April. More coming soon, too. Stay tuned… https://t.co/1BmLhRmNUF
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) March 17, 2020
