Trolls World Tour is thriving outside theaters — might change "movie math" forever
If you thought trolls only thrived on Twitter and Reddit... Think again. Last month, when execs at Comcast's Universal Pictures heard that all US movie theaters would be shutting down, they were bummed — it was just weeks away from the April 10th release of the crucial Trolls movie sequel, "Trolls World Tour."
- Universal decided not to postpone the release — instead, it sent the movie straight to digital rental ($19.99 on Apple TV, Amazon, or YouTube). It was a decision that would not be regretted.
- The Trolls sequel has already made more money for Universal during 3 weeks of digital release than the original Trolls movie did after 5 months in theaters. Trolls #1 just got trolled.
The movie math is changing... Studio execs looked at this surprise digital release success and saw $$$ signs — not just for Trolls, but for the industry as a whole.
- 50%: How much studios reportedly get to keep from box office sales of their movies (theaters mostly get the rest). Trolls #1 made $154M at the US box office — Universal got to keep only $77M.
- 80%: How much studios get to keep from digital rentals/purchases. Trolls #2 has racked up over $95M from 5M households since its digital release and has already made almost $80M.
Less disruption, more hybrid-ization... Sure, paying $19.99 to have your kid sit quietly in front of the TV watching Trolls for 1.5 hours is priceless. That doesn't spell the end of movie theaters, though. Direct-to-streaming isn't one-size-fits all and isn't as perfect in a post-lockdown world. Universal's CEO said yesterday they'd see a hybrid model in the future, where some releases happen in theaters (blockbusters) and others stream ASAP (smaller, on-the-fence titles). Oh and in late-breaking news, AMC Theaters is banning all Universal movies because it feels miffed by Universal's comments.