Whether grocery shopping with a mask on or attending school through Google Meet, COVID-19 has impacted nearly every aspect of our day-to-day lives. The movie industry is no exception to these hardships. In lieu of movie theaters closing down, here are a few ways movies will be streamed.
“Mulan”
Theaters will begin to show Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan” July 24, 2020. Disney postponed its original release date of May 29 due to the Corona outbreak forcing Chinese movie theaters to shut down. “Mulan,” the most expensive live-remake of the Disney animations, is said to have cost at least $200 million according to The Hollywood Reporter. Other remakes include “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” “Mulan” expected to make a revenue of about a billion dollars, the same amount as their two previous remakes. While Disney could have put “Mulan” on Disney Plus and potentially raised subscriptions, it would not have made nearly the same amount as it would in box offices. To reach the predicted one billion, Disney Plus would need 140 million new subscribers, four times their current 28.6 million subscribers, according to NewsWeek.
“Trolls 2: World Tour”
“Trolls” continued with their original release date of April 10. However, instead of playing in cinemas, viewers could purchase the movie from Amazon, Apple TV, Youtube, Google play or any major entertainment streaming site for $19.99. “Trolls” is the only Universal production to release on streaming sites instead of postponing to a future date for at theater viewings.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru”
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” is among the other Universal productions postponed. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters July 2, 2021 in the US and hit theaters later in June 2021 internationally, taking the place of “Sing 2.” Instead, “Sing 2” will be released December 22, 2021. In 2017, Illumination’s “Despicable Me” became the top grossing cartoon world wide. While many expected that the sequel may not face the same level of success, no one expected a setback as significant as this.
While the movie industry continues to push its release back, many wonder if movie theater showings will ever be the same.
