TROLLS: WORLD TOUR Made More Money in Its 3-Week VOD Run Than Its Original Made in 5 Months In Theatres

The current COVID-19 pandemic really shook things up with the way we view new movies. Many of the big blockbusters got pushed back, and some got sent to VOD. But none made a bigger On Demand splash than the highly anticipated (by kids) sequel, Trolls: World Tour. They bought up tons of ads for weeks letting us know that we could rent the movie in our homes, and after a month of not going to the theatre, or much of anywhere, families were ready for a treat.

Some people complained about the $20.00-25.00 price tag, but the families who would have gone to the movies with their kids would have spent way more than that, and the purchase got you the movie for 48 hours, which meant quite a few viewings over two days, which my kids loved. And it turns out a lot of families had the same idea as we did, because the movie did very well in sales.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the movie made more money in three weeks of On Demand than the first film made in a five month theatre run. The report says:

“With nearly five million rentals, the digital release has in three weeks generated more revenue for Universal than the original “Trolls” did during its five-month theatrical run, according to a person familiar with the matter. Its performance has convinced Universal executives that digital releases can be a winning strategy, and may diminish the role of theaters even after the pandemic passes.”

CEO of NBCUniversal, Jeff Shell, said they are now planning on releasing movies on both VOD and theatrical formats:

“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.”

The money generated from an at-home release is huge for a studio, because it’s 100% profits, whereas movie theatre releases generate only a 50% take home for the studio. So while this doesn’t seem like the end of movie theatres to me, because I love the movie-going experience along with so many others, it does seem like an experiment that the studios found lucrative. I’m sure we will be seeing more of it in the future. And while we will still be taking the kids to the drive-in, it will be nice to occasionally see a movie in the comfort of our homes when the weather doesn’t permit, or someone isn’t feeling well. I know I would have enjoyed more options when my babies were little, or we couldn’t get a babysitter and we wanted to see something on opening night.

What do you think of having the option of viewing more movies from home on their opening weekends?

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