Several years ago, the thought of a same-day home/theatrical release was seen as a bad business move by film studios because of the lower box office returns. After all, who wouldn’t rather watch a film at home in their pajamas instead of going to an over-priced theater with a bunch of strangers? Actually… that doesn’t sound that bad… Nevertheless, over the years, smaller studios have embraced the idea, simultaneously releasing films on VOD and limited theatrical rollouts. However, bigger studios haven’t yet embraced the business model… until now.
In a press release sent out today, it was announced that The Weinstein Company is teaming up with Netflix to have a day-and-date release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend on Netflix Instant and in IMAX theaters on August 28th, 2015. The sequel, directed by fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix), will see Michelle Yeoh returning and Donnie Yen joining the cast. The film will be based on Wang Dulu’s novel Iron Knight, Silver Vase, the fifth in his Cane-Iron Pentalogy series.
Could this be the first step towards major film studios embracing the practice? Probably not, but it’ll certainly set the precedence for other studios to follow. Netflix has four other similar deals in the works for the future, so we’ll definitely see whether the experiment works out. One thing is clear: Having the free (for Netflix subscribers) option to watch brand new films at home on its release will be an amazing option for those lazy weekends.
[via /Film]