In a major movie news event, Disney announced they’re sending their summer blockbuster Artemis Fowl straight to streaming, bypassing any theatrical release. They’re skipping cinemas entirely. This is significant. Every other feature initially on Hollywood’s 2020 summer roster has been rescheduled to late Fall — or next year. Or, in some cases, are now on permanent hiatus. (Moment of silence, please.)
Let’s assume you understand why the movie theaters/production studios are offline right now. (Concerns over CoVid-19…but you know this, right?)
Returning to the topic of Artemis Fowl, Science Fiction book website Tor.com reports:
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The film was originally slated to premiere on May 29th in theaters, and because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the studio has opted to pull its release, joining numerous other films that were supposed to come out this summer.
Based on a children’s book series by Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl clearly wants to be the next Harry Potter phenomenon. But AF has elements of both science fiction and fantasy: a hard combination to get right. Can you think of any film that managed to pull if off? Yet if Artemis Fowl is a hit, this origin story will found a new cash-cow franchise. From the trailers, it looks like Disney spared no expense.
Why This is an Important Event
While Artemis Fowl is the first film announcing this move, it probably won’t be the last. This will be something the rest of the Hollywood is going to be following very closely. And probably nervously. (As well as movie theater chains, like AMC, who announced their intention to file bankruptcy.) The movie industry is extraordinarily big and wants people to go to theaters. The studios will lose many millions of dollars if staying home to stream new flicks becomes the new normal. Studios need butts in seats, and soon.
Disney can afford to lose money on movie tickets, since they’re pretty fabulously wealthy, but with people desperate to watch new movies — and probably still quarantined at home — they probably won’t. Making an entertainment ‘event’ in this way, Artemis Fowl should introduce a lot of people to Disney’s subscription entertainment channel.
Artemis Fowl will be available for streaming on June 12.
UPDATE: Three new movies have just joined the straight-to-streaming list: Trolls World Tour (Universal), The Love Birds (Paramount) and Scoob! (Warner Bros). YAY for kid’s movies?
PS: Watch this trailer. Between “Hagrid” and “Harry” — not to mention the English accents — they’re not being very subtle, are they?
What people are saying
about the RunPee app.
Brilliant idea with great information
I’ve been using RunPee for a few years now and it’s basically a requirement of going to the movies for me. The best part of course are the “pee times” that give you cues, synopses and times for when you can pee without missing the most important parts of the movie. There is also information about the credits- length, extras and if there are any extra scenes at the wayyy end. Super helpful to just know that it is or isn’t worth staying. There is a timer function that will buzz your phone when it’s a good time to pee. I also appreciate that the app is very conscientious about it being an app you use in a theater- dark background, all silent alarms etc. I will always enjoy the experience of the theater even if I could watch things at home- but I’ve even used it at home to check for things like after credit scenes or other information too.
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