Universal Pictures will make movies available at home and in theaters on the same day

(Reuters) - Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast Corp-owned NBCUniversal, will make its movies available at home on the same day they are released in theaters worldwide, beginning with the DreamWorks Animation film “Trolls World Tour” - which opens in the United States on April 10.

The decision, announced by NBCUniversal on Monday, is a response to changing consumer behavior as the coronavirus spreads. It upends the traditional practice of keeping a movie exclusively in theaters for what is typically a 90-day window before releasing it on other platforms.

NBCUniversal will “continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve,” the company said in a statement, adding it will revisit the strategy when the current situation changes.

On Sunday night, the mayors of New York and Los Angeles ordered movie theaters in their respective cities to close in response to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

NBCUniversal said that by Friday, recently released films including “The Hunt,” “The Invisible Man” and “Emma” will be available from sister companies Sky and Comcast and on a variety of on-demand services. The suggested price will be $19.99 in the United States for a 48-hour rental, and the equivalent price elsewhere.

“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shell in a statement.

Between this past Friday and Sunday, North American movie box office sales hit their lowest levels in over two decades, according to Comscore, as viewers stayed home and theaters capped their seating capacity to create more space between moviegoers.

Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis

'Furious 7' destroys records with $143.6-M debut

LOS ANGELES -- "Furious 7" raced to the top of the domestic box office, picking up a massive $143.6 million in its opening weekend.

That establishes a new high-water mark for the month of April, blowing past the $95-million debut of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," and stands as the highest-grossing kick-off for any film in the "Fast and Furious" franchise. It also ranks ninth among the top 10 openings in history.

Much as "The Dark Knight" turned into a memorial for Heath Ledger, audiences flocked to see star Paul Walker in one of his final roles. The actor died in a 2013 car crash at the age of 40 and his work on the film was completed using digital technology and a series of stand-ins.

"This is a bittersweet installment in the franchise," said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. "[Walker's] passing made this movie more intriguing for people who hadn't seen some of the installments. It raised awareness and its success is a tribute to him."

Universal Pictures spared no expense in bringing the latest chapter in the fast cars and gravity-defying-stunts series to the big screen, shelling out $190 million on the production. It unspooled in 4,003 North American theaters, earning $14 million on 365 Imax screens and $11.5 million from premium large format screens. Going into the weekend, most analysts estimated that the film would open in the $115-million range.

Foreign numbers were steroidal. Internationally, the film rolled out across 10,500 screens in 63 territories, earning $240.4 million.

"This is the next member of the billion dollar club and that's a rarefied place to be," said Contrino. "This thing is on fire."

With an A CinemaScore and strong reviews, "Furious 7" could be one of the few modern blockbusters that hangs on for more than a few weeks. The month of April is lean on blockbuster fare and "Furious 7" won't get serious competition until "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" debuts on May 1.

The opening weekend crowd was impressively diverse, a testament to a series that has drawn strength from its multi-cultural cast. The audience was 51% male, 44% under age 25, 37% Hispanic, 25% Caucasian, 24% African-American and 10% Asian.

"We're expanding our audience based on the diversity of interest from different ethnic groups all buying into saga of Dom Toretto and his family," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of domestic distribution, referencing the character played by Vin Diesel.

Last weekend's box office champion, DreamWorks Animation's "Home," showed impressive stamina, falling less than 50%. The animated tale picked up $27.4 million in its sophomore frame, pushing its domestic total to $95.6 million.

In third place, R-rated comedy "Get Hard" earned $12.9 million. The Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart team-up fell 62% from its opening number, bringing its stateside haul to $57 million.

"Cinderella" snagged a fourth place finish, picking up $10.3 million stateside to push its domestic bounty to $167.3 million. Globally, the Disney release is closing in on $400 million.

"The Divergent Series: Insurgent" rounded out the weekend top five, nabbing $10 million and driving the film to $103.4 million domestically.

Among art house releases, Noah Baumbach's "While We're Young" expanded from four to 34 theaters, picking up $492,976. The A24 release has earned $791,450 in two weeks.

Radius-TWC's "It Follows" also continued to expand, moving from 1,218 to 1,655, though its gross dipped 35% to $2.5 million. The critically adored horror film has made $8.5 million since debuting on March 13.

The Weinstein Company was particularly bullish on the reception for "Woman in Gold," a drama about the fight to recover art stolen by the Nazis. The film picked up $2 million from 258 locations and will expand to between 800 and 1,000 venues this coming weekend.

"The film is definitely poised for a long, long run," said Erik Lomis, the studio's distribution chief. "That's a really solid start."

Thanks to "Furious 7," the overall box office reached $218 million, the first time that ticket sales have crossed $200 million over the Easter weekend.

"These huge results jump start momentum for the blockbuster, summer season, suggesting that 2015 is shaping up to be everything (and maybe even more) that the industry has been hoping for," said Greg Foster, CEO of Imax Entertainment.

In other words, "Furious 7" just dropped the mic.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LOOK: A 'Fast & Furious' plane

Universal Pictures has recently unveiled the luxury Fast & Furious 777 airliner at Los Angeles International Airport. Actor-producer Vin Diesel was on hand as Etihad Airways Flight 171 arrived from Abu Dhabi to kick off the global junket and world premiere of "Furious 7."

The newly decaled Boeing 777 will fly the direct route between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles.

Abu Dhabi is a key location for "Furious 7." Over the course of two weeks in April 2014, the team filmed in areas outside Abu Dhabi in the Liwa Desert, as well as in the city center at such locations as the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Emirates Palace hotel, the Yas Marina F1 race circuit and the Etihad Towers.

“We are pleased to work together with Universal, an organization which shares that same spirit of innovation and reimagination when it comes to the world of entertainment, to unveil our newly decaled Boeing 777 aircraft in support of the Fast & Furious franchise, and
'Furious 7' which premieres next month and highlights our airline’s home of Abu Dhabi,” Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial officer of Etihad Airways, said in a statement released on Thursday.

“When we began filming 'The Fast and the Furious' in 2000, if you told me that we would one day have our logo on a wide-body jet, I would have said you were crazy,” quipped producer Neal H. Moritz, who has shepherded all seven films in the series.

The Fast & Furious decal will remain on the plane for the next four to six months.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Angelina Jolie gets chicken pox and cancels 'Unbroken' promotion

LOS ANGELES - Filmmaker and actress Angelina Jolie said on Friday she has chicken pox and will not be able to attend events for World War Two drama "Unbroken," her second film as director.

"I just want to be clear and honest why I will be missing the 'Unbroken' events in the next few days, which is that I found out last night that I have chicken pox," Jolie said in a video released by Universal Pictures on YouTube.

"Unbroken," the harrowing survival story of prisoner of war and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini, will have its U.S. premiere in Los Angeles on Monday. It opens in theaters on Dec. 25.

On Thursday, the film failed to pick up any nominations for Golden Globe awards, one of the biggest events in the film awards season that ends with the Academy Awards in February.

"So I will be home, itching and missing everyone and I can't believe it because this film means so much to me. I just can't believe it, but such is life," said the 39-year-old mother of six and wife of Brad Pitt.

At the end of the 39-second video, she throws up her hands and then waves goodbye.

On Wednesday, Jolie attended Hollywood Reporter's annual Women in Entertainment breakfast honoring the 100 most powerful women in the business.

Among those she greeted was Amy Pascal, the beleaguered co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, whose emails have been leaked by hackers behind the massive cyberattack on the studio, a unit of Sony Corp.

In an email exchange between Pascal and producer Scott Rudin that was reported by Gawker on Tuesday, Rudin called Jolie a "minimally talented spoiled brat" because of her demands during a remake of "Cleopatra." Jolie has not responded publicly to the remarks since the email exchange was disclosed.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com