In these strange times, the movie industry’s having to adapt so that folks can still get their cinematic fix. Given that theaters are closed across the globe, many films are either being switched to VOD releases or are dropping online much sooner than expected. One of the latter is Birds of Prey, which Warner Bros. made available to rent last month, despite it only debuting on the big screen at the beginning of February. The move, backed by director Cathy Yan, was a successful one. And it seems the studio has now decided to open up the film to even more people.
As pointed out by IndieWire, Birds of Prey has had its price dropped on iTunes, Amazon and VUDU to a mere $5.99. That’s a sharp decrease from its original $19.99 price tag. This comes just over two months to the day when it first debuted in cinemas. Presumably, the thinking behind the decision was to make BoP stand out amongst the flood of other new/recent films on VOD. If that’s the case, it’s definitely working. The Margot Robbie vehicle is currently sitting at #1 on the iTunes movie chart.
Birds of Prey was initially discussed as something of a flop, given that it kicked off to the lowest opening weekend of any DCEU movie. However, reviews were positive and a quick search on social media will show you how popular it is with fans. Clearly, releasing it early on VOD was a good call, as it’s already being re-evaluated and talked about in a more positive light. Whether this will help the chances of it getting a sequel or not, though, we’ll just have to sit tight and see.
Yan has revealed that she’s got some ideas for a follow-up of some kind, with her wish to have it focus on a Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy relationship. Maybe dropping the price on VOD is part of WB trying to gauge just how much interest there is out there in Birds of Prey and whether it’s worth pursuing the franchise any further? If that’s the case, you might want to show it your support by grabbing the movie while it’s so cheap.