The studio has already confirmed plans to release the Pete Davidson/Judd Apatow comedy King of Staten Island straight to streaming, but the latest in its Fast and Furious action franchise, F9, appears to be on track for a delayed cinema release in April 2021. As we stated earlier, going forward, we expect to release future films directly to theatres, as well as on PVOD when that distribution outlet makes sense.” Universal responded to Aron in a statement that said: “We absolutely believe in the theatrical experience and have made no statement to the contrary. By comparison, Trolls had earned just over $120m at a similar stage in its US domestic run.Īron’s position was echoed by the National Association of Theatre Owners, who said in a statement: “While Universal may be pleased with the PVOD results of Trolls World Tour, this outcome should not be interpreted as a sign of a ‘new normal’ for Hollywood.” Universal has reported that Trolls World Tour has made almost $100m since its US release on 10 April, of which a far larger proportion will go directly to the studio than if it had had a cinema release. Shell was quoted as saying: “The results for Trolls World Tour have exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the viability of PVOD … As soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”

Therefore, effectively immediately AMC will no longer play any Universal movies in any of our theatres in the United States, Europe or the Middle East.”Īron was responding to comments by Universal CEO Jeff Shell in the Wall Street Journal, after the VOD release of Universal’s family animation Trolls World Tour. Aron added: “Universal’s unilateral actions and intentions have left us with no choice.

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