With cinemas closed indefinitely and public gatherings discouraged, many recent films have cut short their theatrical runs and gone straight to VOD. As such, a fresh new battleground has opened up, as studios begin to examine which movies are performing best in this new marketplace. This brings with it some new competition, as well as a small win for Vin Diesel’s beleaguered Bloodshot.
According to FandangoNOW, which is leading the way in screening films that would otherwise be in theaters, Bloodshot has outperformed Birds of Prey. It didn’t take the top two streaming spots, which went to The Invisible Man and Onward, but it is certainly the best-performing superhero film of the week. And let’s face it, given how much bad luck Bloodshot has had, I’m sure they’ll take whatever victory they can.
Of course, Birds of Prey coming in fourth may be due to the fact that it already had a decent theatrical run of over a month before the Coronavirus really hit. By comparison, Bloodshot was only in theaters for a week or so before the COVID-19 hammer fell. As such, this could simply be a case of audiences choosing a movie they probably haven’t seen over one they have.
Whatever the case, these streaming charts are likely to become a key metric for studios over the next few months. A lot of the big players have remained bullish about their major summer superhero movies eventually making a theatrical release, as Wonder Woman 1984 had its release postponed (once more) for two months, Black Widow will still hit cinemas and Morbius has been kicked down the road until 2021. But if this pandemic drags on for as long as some scientists predict, we could see some of them bite the bullet and release even their biggest productions on streaming.
And who knows, once all this is over, maybe studios will be more inclined towards simultaneous theatrical/VOD releases? Time will tell.
