20th Century Studios’ The Call Of The Wild and Searchlight Pictures’ Downhill will be made available on digital beginning Friday in the U.S., Disney said.
Both films had hit theaters in February just ahead of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, and like other studio feature films will now get shortened theatrical-to-home windows as most cinemas are shut down during the pandemic. Most exhibitors worldwide look to be shut down for the next two months.
Disney took its Pixar film Onward, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Frozen 2 out early, while Universal has done the same for their in-release fare including The Invisible Man, The Hunt and Focus Features’ Emma; Paramount with Sonic the Hedgehog; and Warner Bros with Birds of Prey and The Way Back. Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s faith-based I Still Believe will be available in homes starting Friday.
The theatrical-to-home window is usually 90 days, and titles that don’t obey that timeline usually aren’t booked by the nationwide circuits like AMC, Cinemark and Regal, who are now shut down.
The Call of the Wild, the CG/live-action adaptation of Jack London’s Yukon adventure story that stars Harrison Ford and his dog Buck, opened February 21 to $24.8 million at the U.S. box office and has grossed $107.6M worldwide. It will be available digitally and on Movies Anywhere beginning tomorrow for $14.99.
Downhill, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell and bowed in theaters February 14 to $4.6 million, with its global cume at $8.9 million. It will be available Friday for $9.99.