How the Holiday Season May Boost Film Sales
As we approach the end of the year, it seems film studios and streaming giants have made up their minds for their plans to close out the year. While streaming companies like Netflix, Hulu and others have seen no interruptions to their 2020 releases, it’s obviously been very difficult for big studios to see success in theaters, if they were even able to release a film at all. However, it seems some studios may have a chance to release their films to the masses after all. With the pandemic having no near end in sight, many big films like Universal’s remake of Candyman and Marvel’s The Eternals and Black Widow have already been pushed to 2021. Warner Bros. Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the very successful Wonder Woman, was expected to see the same fate, until the company announced they will be releasing the film on Christmas day in theaters where available AND on HBO Max. Warner Bros. and DC Comics have a contract with HBO Max where they are able to show all of DC’s films and television shows exclusively on the streaming giant’s platform. We’ve seen this sort of move before, when Disney put Mulan on their streaming app and both the hype and performance of the film were not that pleasing. However, DC’s films generally perform very well, and the Wonder Woman franchise particularly performs well. It will be difficult to tell, but this move by Warner Bros. and HBO Max may be what saves Marvel’s films in the near future, as they will have a choice to put their films on Disney+ or continuing delaying their releases.
On Netflix, the current top 10 films in the US and globally has begun to be infiltrated by Christmas films. Both the live-action and animated Grinch films are currently in the top 5 and the star-studded Netflix original Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is on its way towards them as well, as it currently sits on the outside of the type 5. Written and directed by David E. Talbert, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is about an imaginary world that comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever. The film stars Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Phylicia Rashad, Ricky Martin and many more. With that cast and the holiday season among us, this film looks to see success on Netflix.
Box Office Roundup and Looking Forward: Surprisingly, there is currently a film that is actually doing relatively well in the domestic box office. Freaky, is about a young high school girl who has swapped bodies with a deranged serial killer and has 24 hours before the swap is permanent. The film opened on November 13th to a $3.6 million weekend and has grossed $6 million worldwide. This is not a huge showing, but the film’s budget was only $5 million. The film stars Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton and Celeste O'Connor.
For VOD films, the Jordan Peele produced Antebellum, about successful author Veronica Henley who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it's too late, is currently top three in sales. The Janelle Monáe led film was released in September to little success, only grossing $6.8 million internationally (no domestic theatrical release), but now sees some success from the VOD market. Looking ahead, the VOD market is going to continue to see success during the holidays, as people gather together for holiday films or others. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is also arriving to VOD December 15th, and we shall see how other theatrical releases will fare on the market.
