GREENLAND was set to hit screens in September but was then delayed until some time in the fourth quarter for a potential theatrical release. Now that it's looking like theatrical moviegoing is pretty much dead in 2020, the Gerard Butler disaster flick is now skipping a theatrical release and heading straight to streaming in a HUGE deal with HBO Max.
STX will control the PVOD window on the Ric Roman Waugh-directed movie. Additionally, HBO has thrown out a staggering $20-$30 million for GREENLAND'S pay-TV and streaming in the U.S. where the movie will debut on the pay-cable TV network and stream on HBO Max in early 2021. This deal is even bigger than the $17.5 million acquisition of the Hugh Jackman–Allison Janney drama, BAD EDUCATION, which was purchased out of TIFF last year.
It had been reported earlier this week that GREENLAND'S domestic release was headed exclusively to Amazon Prime. This isn't entirely true but the film will, in fact, get a release on Amazon Prime in Canada, the UK, and Australia after lucrative deals with the streamer. STX had been planning to release the movie itself in the UK.
STX is likely going to pull in a nice profit for GREENLAND when it's all said and done. Despite skipping the theatrical window domestically, the film has been performing very well overseas where it has grossed $20 million to date. According to the studio, the film has registered about $45 million in revenue. The film will still continue to open in territories overseas that are allowed to reopen and since GREENLAND only cost $35 million to make, between its overseas take and lucrative streaming deal, I'd call this a win for STX.
STX pulled a similar move with the Dave Bautista action-comedy, MY SPY. That film skipped theaters due to the pandemic and the film rights were then sold to Amazon Prime Video in U.S. and key foreign territories. Although the studio hasn't released solid numbers as of yet, MY SPY was reportedly a huge success on Amazon Prime after its debut on June 26 and this is why STX is already exploring a sequel.
In GREENLAND, a family fights for survival as planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and young son Nathan make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary. Amid terrifying news accounts of cities around the world being leveled by the comet’s fragments, the Garrity’s experience the best and worst in humanity. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven. The film also stars David Denman, Hope Davis, Roger Dale Floyd, Andrew Bachelor, Merrin Dungey, Holt McCallany, and Scott Glenn.
Do YOU think this was the right move for GREENLAND?