The Coronavirus has all but halted the movie industry, with announcements of delays and cancellations coming thick and fast. With cinemas now under orders to shut their doors, recent theatrical releases are finding their audiences elsewhere by releasing on Digital just weeks or even days after premiering.
Firstly, Disney announced the early release of Frozen II on Disney Plus to provide “some fun and joy during this challenging period,” and later dropped Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to purchase digitally ahead of schedule. They later made Pixar's Onward available for purchase early.
Following Disney’s move, Universal Studios moved it’s current theatrical releases to streaming services for rent. Titles like The Invisible Man – which proved a box office smash – The Hunt, Emma, and Trolls: World Tour will all be available to rent and watch at home. Warner Bros. went next, with Birds of Prey and The Gentleman both being brought forward to provide audiences with some home-viewing during these trying times.
Bloodshot, the superhero movie starring Vin Diesel has also been moved forward, as has Ben Affleck's The Way Back, the Sonic movie, and Bad Boys For Life. And, for animal lovers, Cats and Dolittle have been released digitally, and Harrison Ford's canine buddy movie Call of the Wild is en route. Yay? Disney has also announced that Downhill is being released early.
There's also Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae's new comedy, The Lovebirds, which was originally due to reach cinemas but has since been picked up by Netflix.
Wondering what else has been moved forward? GamesRadar+ is staying on top of everything. Here is your comprehensive list of every movie available early on digital:
Available now
- The Invisible Man
- The Hunt
- Emma
- Birds of Prey (US)
- Bloodshot
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- Frozen II (On Disney Plus in US)
- Just Mercy (US)
- The Gentlemen (US)
- Cats (US)
- Dolittle (US)
- The Way Back (US)
- Onward
- And Then We Danced (UK)
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire (UK)
Coming soon
- Call of the Wild (March 27, US)
- Downhill (March 27, US)
- Sonic (March 31, US)
- Bad Boys For Life (March 31, US)
- Onward (Disney Plus on April 3, US)
- Trolls: World Tour (April 10)
- The Lovebirds (Netflix TBA)
On top of a shaky box office, movies in production have also been affected by the spread of coronavirus. Delays have hit the likes of The Batman, the Uncharted movie and Mission: Impossible 7. Find out more about every movie and TV show delayed by the coronavirus.
