Due to the rise of COVID-19, people aren’t leaving their homes to enjoy a movie at the theater. A variety of movie studios are postponing movie releases, like Mulan and Fast and Furious 9. Other studios are deciding to pull their movies from the theaters that are closing and instantly streaming them instead.
With AMC and Regal both closing, we are now finding some of our favorite films going straight to streaming and digital distribution. Here are some famous and beloved movies that are leaving theaters and heading to a television near us.
1. Frozen 2
So Frozen 2 was able to live and thrive in the theaters, but due to Disney closing all their theme parks and children being locked inside, Disney decided to release the blockbuster movie early to Disney+ and digital download three months earlier than initially planned.
2. Trolls World Tour
The next installment of the Trolls franchise was supposed to hit theaters on April 10, but due to COVID-19, the studio decided to forgo the theatre release. Instead, they will be releasing the film digitally and for streaming on April 10 instead.
3. Onward
Pixar’s newest animated movie only had a short time to live in theaters before the pandemic hit. Instead of letting the movie flop, Disney decided to pull it from theaters and is preparing to release it for streaming and digital download. You can digitally download Onward right now, and it will be available for streaming April 3.
4. The Hunt
The Hunt hasn’t had a lot of luck with attempting to go to theaters. The original release was canceled in light of a shooting and was postponed until March 13. Now the release to theaters has been ultimately canceled, and instead, the thriller is available for download and streaming on March 20. You can watch it on iTunes and Prime Video.
5. The Way Back
Just two weeks after it hit theaters, Ben Afflick’s newest film has been pulled from theaters and instead sent to our streaming services. Starting on March 24, we can watch this drama via Prime Video, Apple TV, iTunes, and YouTube.
6. Birds of Prey
Director Cathy Yan announced on Twitter that her female lead DC Comic film would be released early for download and streaming due to COVID-19. The film stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Rosie Perez and it will be available for digital purchase via Amazon, iTunes, and more on March 24.
7. Bloodshot
This comic book-based movie starring Vin Diesel and Sam Heughan has forgone the theater release and instead, is moving directly to a home near you. You can download and stream Bloodshot on a variety of platforms beginning March 24.
8. Lovebirds
Lovebirds was initially supposed to grace our theaters on April 3, but now the comedy, starring Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, has been pushed to streaming. Beginning April 3, you can stream the comedy via Netflix.
There are still a few films up in the air about a release date and if they will see the light of day in the theaters, like Mulan, but it seems that studios are turning to stream and download options more then ever now to get their films seen by people who are forced to stay home.