Anna Daniels
Theatrical grosses — the top line revenue collected by movie vendors at the box office — are split evenly between the theaters and the studios. That means the original Trolls‘ $153 million domestic take only amounted to about $76.5 million in revenue for the studio. VOD sales, on the other hand, provide studios with a generous 80% cut. That means $100 million in rental fees for Trolls World Tour would amount to $80 million going straight to Universal.
Trolls World Tour also hit VOD services with an inflated $19.99 price tag for rentals. The fact that the market sustained that price point at such a high level suggests a real business opportunity for studios to bypass theatrical venues altogether. Universal previously tested the $19.99 price point on some other high-profile properties released to theaters just before the shutdown, including The Invisible Man, The Hunt, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Emma. Those four features cumulatively earned the studio about $60 million in rental fees from audiences who missed them during their truncated theatrical run.
NCBUniversal CEO Jeff Shell told the Wall Street Journal that “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.”
That’s a pretty ominous pronouncement for movie theaters concerned about staying in the black when they’re eventually able to reopen. Both the comments of CEO Shell and the runaway success of Trolls World Tour suggest the straight-to-VOD strategy may outlast the pandemic. We’ll have to wait and see if audiences remain as willing to pay $19.99 to watch a new movie in the comfort of their own homes when the local theater is an actual option once more.
Written by: Looper
