Universal Pictures was forced to gamble on TROLLS WORLD TOUR over Easter weekend. The film's release was moved up to this weekend when NO TIME TO DIE became the first film to push back its release due to the coronavirus pandemic but Universal couldn't have predicted that movie theaters nationwide would go dark soon after they made the release date change. They could have pushed back the release of their TROLLS sequel but it was ultimately decided to make the film available via video-on-demand on the day of its release while playing in what few theaters, mostly drive-ins, were able to show it. Theater owners have criticized Universal for breaking the theatrical window with TROLLS WORLD TOUR, even with the ongoing pandemic hurting business, but it looks like it was a gamble that paid off for the studio.
According to Universal, TROLLS WORLD TOUR scored the biggest digital debut of all-time over Easter weekend. The film was made available to rent on premium VOD for 48 hours for 19.99 and it helped secure the biggest opening day and opening weekend ever for any digital title, this all according to Universal insiders. The studio didn't release hard numbers to back this up but the folks over at "Deadline" were able to pull the numbers that put the record into perspective.
Universal saw an opening VOD day for TROLLS WORLD TOUR that was 10x better than its previous VOD winner, JURASSIC PARK: FALLEN KINGDOM. According to "Deadline", FALLEN KINGDOM did $2M-$3M on its first VOD day. That translates into a first day of $20M-$30M and some insiders believe that it's possible TROLLS WORLD TOUR may have done over $40 million Easter weekend. The first TROLLS film opened to $46.5 million back in 2016 and the estimated $40 million+ that the sequel did on VOD is about what some box office experts believe the film would've opened to in a COVID-19-free box office climate.
TROLLS WORLD TOUR also gained traffic at the local drive-ins. Even though Universal didn't report numbers, "Deadline" was able to pull them and the film did $60,000 over the weekend. The performance was led by such drive-ins as the Sacramento 6 ($13,4K), the Glendale 9 in Arizona ($12K), the Mission Tiki in Montclair, CA ($5,700), the Galaxy in Ennis, TX ($2,600), the Auto in Greenwood, SC ($2,500), the Tascosa in Amarillo, TX, the Ocala in Florida ($2,300), and the Lake Worth, also in Florida, ($2k). Many drive-ins have thrived since multiplexes shutters their doors on March 16 with most of them remaining in business, despite heavy state-issued closures.
So did Universal's experiment work? Judging from opening weekend, it certainly did. Helping matters is that TROLLS WORLD TOUR is a family film and since it was made available over a family holiday such as Easter when many families were stuck at home, the incentive to rent the title was high. TROLLS WORLD TOUR cost a reported $90 million to make so we will have to wait and see how the film is performing in the weeks ahead but with merchandising deals and other profit gaining factors, delivering the film this way may have been the best-case scenario for Universal during a very uncertain time at the box office.
Do YOU think studios should follow the VOD release model? Did this pay off for Universal?