Per a new report, and in an effort to provide some fresh entertainment to those currently quarantined across the globe, Warner Bros.' Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) and STXFilms' The Gentlemen have both moved up their Digital HD release dates from April to next Tuesday, March 24th.
While Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey was one of this year's biggest box office disappointments as it grossed just over $199.1 million ($84.1M domestic; $115M foreign) on an estimated $100 million production budget, which was well short of its estimated $250M to $300 million break even number, Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen was one of this year's most pleasant surprises, both critically and commercially. The film ultimately earned over $115 milion on an estimated $22 million production budget.
The news comes hot on the heels of Universal Pictures' decision to make The Invisible Man, Emma and The Hunt available for rent this coming Friday as well as making Trolls: World Tour available for rent on April 10, which was its original theatrical release date.
Disney also made its billion-dollar blockbuster Frozen 2 available to stream on Disney+ last weekend, well ahead of its intended streaming launch date, and have also made Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker available to purchase on all Digital HD platforms.
With the coronavirus pandemic currently showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, it should be an interesting few weeks/months for the film industry as top studios debate the pros/cons of possibly launching some of their upcoming films on streaming platforms rather than give them their theatrical launches to mitigate losses during this troubling time.
However, with that said, it remains increasingly unlikely that potential major blockbusters like Black Widow, A Quiet Place Part II, Mulan, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick and others will be pushed to streaming, as it would likely result in unprecedented losses for the respective studios. Pushing them to later in 2020 and/or to 2021 will likely remain the most viable option.