Should the Onward model be adopted for Spring/Summer movies this year?

[ChrisIII]

Several movies that were due to be released this Spring and Summer will be delayed, but Disney is already fast-tracking Onward to Disney+ and digital release, and I think some other films are following.


Should mostly "In the can" movies like No Time To Die and Black Widow follow perhaps (I'm guessing all that needed to be done was just some post work which I think can be done remotely without too much personal interaction)? NTTD was pretty much all set to go with the press tour already in full swing. BW also was starting to heat up and the action figure line just came out too I think.
A Disney+ debut for Black Widow would probably draw more people into the service. Not sure who has the biggest deal with Universal right now and who would release NTTD. Ditto with F9 although I'm not sure how far that was finished.



I mean, it would probably hurt movie theaters unfortunately but perhaps the films could be re-released later on the big screen with some extra incentive. "Endgame" for instance, got a re-release with some new content after the film (totally different situation though). Perhaps some kind of promotional program like that? Free snacks with every ticket? etc.


Again I'm not really an expert on economics or that sort of thing, just thought I'd throw it out there.

[WebLurker]

Dunno about the economics, but I want to see those movies in theaters, not on a streaming service I don't want.

[GOLGO 13]

Dunno about the economics, but I want to see those movies in theaters, not on a streaming service I don't want.

Yeah, this. BW is what I call a spectacle of a movie that deserves the big screen viewing experience. Things like rom-coms/animation are fine for the home.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Yeah, this. BW is what I call a spectacle of a movie that deserves the big screen viewing experience. Things like rom-coms/animation are fine for the home.

Agreed. My uneducated guess is that Hollywood will move everything back on big releases like BW and NTTD to the fall, essentially gutting the summer blockbuster season. I mean, let's face it, right now NOBODY knows how long these draconian isolation practices will remain in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. For all we know, it could be June, July, perhaps later than that before things return to any semblance of normalcy, and even then, chances are it won't happen all at once. Hollywood should be prepared for that possibility.

[Immortal Weapon]

Tentpole films won't be fast tracked to digital/streaming. Too much money has been sunk into those movies and they won't make it back on VoD. Those films will wait until theaters can be opened again. Smaller films can make the jump with little problem.

[C_Miller]

I don't see it happening. At least not for the big films. I imagine that more films that were pegged for a theater release are going to end up on VOD or streaming depending on how long this whole thing goes. But those will be films that have a little less faith from studios. The only reason this happened with Onward is because it had the worst potential opening date for this event.

[Immortal Weapon]

I find it wrong to call this is the Onward model when Universal pictures spearheaded this.

[C_Miller]

I find it wrong to call this is the Onward model when Universal pictures spearheaded this.

I think this is referring more to the move to a "free" streaming service more than moving to a home release platform in general. As far as I know, the Universal films are just going to be on VOD for the foreseeable future. That is a key distiction because in about 3 weeks I will be able to watch Onward on service that I already partake in rather than having to pay 19.99 for a rental, which I absolutely refuse to do.

[Midvillian1322]

I saw a article saying WBs was debating if they should just release WW on Streaming. If they released it with the launch of HBO max I could see it being beneficial. But up and running services like Disney + arent gonna get enough new customers by dropping Black widow to make back the money spent on the film.

Also I agree i want to see the big movies on the big screen. BE,WW.F9,Mulan etc.... NTTD I could care less though I did like the trailer. I have only seen Casino royal and wasnt a huge fan.