Although Bloodshot was just released over the weekend, unique circumstances have stalled the Vin Diesel action film from any box office potential it could’ve had & now Sony is following the lead of Universal by releasing Bloodshot early to video-on-demand services amid the coronavirus pandemic. The film will be available for the service, Tuesday, March 24.
Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman had this to say about their decision:
“Sony Pictures is firmly committed to theatrical exhibition and we support windowing. This is a unique and exceedingly rare circumstance where theaters have been required to close nationwide for the greater good and Bloodshot is abruptly unavailable in any medium. Audiences will now have the chance to own Bloodshot right away and see it at home, where we are all spending more time. We are confident that — like other businesses hit hard by the virus — movie theaters will bounce back strongly, and we will be there to support them.”
Bloodshot opened last Friday, during a weekend that saw the overall box office fall to a 22-year low. The opening of $9.3 million was below its tracking & I’m not saying it was destined to be a big hit but, it was definitely affected by the cut in capacity last week at most theaters & now the whole industry has taken a hit with theaters closing nationwide amid overseas closures as well.
Sony’s digital move with Bloodshot comes after NBCUniversal announced Monday that it would be breaking the window between theatrical and home entertainment, with recent Universal releases including The Invisible Man, Emma, and The Hunt being made available digitally for 48-hour rental periods as early as this Friday. Universal’s Trolls World Tour, due out April 10, will be available digitally that day, as well as in theaters that may remain open on that date. Warner Bros. is also releasing Birds of Prey early on VOD Tuesday while STX Entertainment is doing the same with The Gentlemen.
