'Trolls World Tour' will be the first film to forgo a box office release amid the coronavirus. NBCUniversal’s Universal Pictures announced Monday it would make DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour available for in-home rental without first releasing it in theaters. Then the knockout punch: Universal said it will release Trolls World Tour as a pay-per-view film on its April 10, 2020, premiere date, without any domestic theatrical run. Most of the films will cost around $20 to rent, meaning millions must rent each in order to reach projected box office numbers. The entertainment world is looking at a $4 billion hit to the box office thanks to the coronavirus and will lose billions more from halted productions; the National Association of Theater Owners has already requested a bailout from the government.

Source: Forbes March 20, 2020 18:26 UTC