If you are a parent with a child of a certain age, there is a good chance that you have seen at least one of the “trolls” films. They are extremely popular and now ranks as one of the most successful screen adaptations in modern Hollywood history. The first film “Trolls” was released in 2016 during the 2010 Hollywood franchise boom. It was a solid blow that gave birth to a suite, which arrived in the form of “trolls World Tour” of the 2020s. On the surface, this film seemed to be an unpretentious and harmless animation follow -up of a successful film intended for children. In reality, it helped change Hollywood forever.

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Let’s go back the clocks a bit. It’s March 2020 and Cinemas around the world have been forced to close due to the COVVI-19 pandemic. The box office is on the life support, the drive-in making an unexpected return. Hollywood studios are afraid of an uncertain future and are busy looking for answers. It is at this stage that Universal Pictures decided to make the unprecedented movement to publish an brand new big budget film which was intended for theaters at home so that people can watch premium costs. Therefore, the birth of premium on demand video, alias Pvod.

Notable films 2020 such as “Bloodshot” and “Birds of Prey”, among others, were released on VOD early After having their theatrical races cut by the pandemic. It was an understandable measure in an era of criticism. However, “Trolls World Tour” had not yet succeeded in the big screen, so Universal’s change of strategy was something else. It turned out to be a decision that permanently modified the way we watch the films, for the best or for the worst – and, once again, everything was based on the shoulders of a animated suite on the song of the Trolls dolls.

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Let’s go back even further the clock for a moment. The idea of ​​renting movies at home and VOD as we know, it was not new in early 2020, but it had been largely reserved for small films or films that had already crossed their theatrical life cycle. Anyway, while DVD sales began to decrease, the studios wanted to make this income somewhere.

As The Wall Street Journal Reported in 2010, Time Warner Cable Inc. made a pitch in Hollywood as a whole where people could watch a home film 30 days after its theatrical release for $ 20 or $ 30. It didn’t go well. Go even less well was The universal release of his comedy “Tower Heist” on VOD for a $ 60 eye in 2011 Only three weeks after reaching theaters. Cinemark boycotted the film, so Universal fell fairly quickly.

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In other words, the studios were flirting with this idea for a complete decade before the pandemic. During all this time, the cinema owners were competing for the concept, suggesting that he would eat in their profits. The pandemic simply created a scenario that removed the negotiation chip that the rooms had, Universal firing on the trigger of the Pvod experience, publishing “Trolls World Tour” on April 10, 2020, for $ 20 at home. It was, by all accounts, resounding success.

In just three weeks of release on VOD, “Trolls World Tour” has achieved around $ 100 million in revenues for Universal. Yes, the film also played in theaters, but that was only good when the vast majority of theaters around the world were closed. For the context, the first “trolls” are manufactured $ 342 million Around the world throughout its theatrical race, theaters keeping about half of the ticket money. With VOD, the studios keep a larger share of income. For studios, the advantages were clear. For theaters, it was a nail in the coffin in a way. It was an allegedly temporary measure which became permanent. This decision has forever modified the vision habits of the general public in the process, which makes it much easier to stay at home even after the threat of the pandemic has relaxed.

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The theater channels were not too satisfied with Universal’s decision. AMC, the world’s largest chain, prohibited all universal films in April 2020 In response. The ban obviously did not stay, but this shows how those who count on the box office to keep their business alive were. The actors of the film were not exactly happy either, Because they later asked for bonuses that they would have received if the rest had taken certain stages of the box office. It may be said that “Trolls Band Together” of 2023 obtained a theatrical version, with the VOD version to come only one month after its beginnings on the big screen.

In the years that followed, the studios have embraced Pvod warmly, streaming also becoming a much more dominant force during the pandemic. While very few films of this size go directly to the VOD now, the theatrical window has collapsed, with many titles available only 17 days after their first round in theaters. The AMC and other channels are currently behind Hollywood to extend the theatrical window to 45 days (which would have always been relatively short before the pandemic). It remains to be seen whether it happens or not, but the studios have little motivation to give in.

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Unlike the box office, studios rarely share VOD numbers. However, the New York Times reported that Universal had made more than a billion dollars of Pvod titles in just three years. Universal continued to assert that VOD is good for business And is “additional” at the box office. Other studios have followed suit, reserving long and exclusive theatrical races for the biggest of great films only.

All of this formed people to stay at home, with the “Wait to Stream” mentality taking root. Many viewers become downright indignant when they cannot broadcast a film now, even if it is only in theaters recently. During all this time, The world box office was not about to reach the pre-pale levels again. Theaters are still faced with a somewhat uncertain future, five years away from all this.

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At the same time, VOD helped provide studios with a secondary source of income that did not exist before. With the DVD not what it was in the past, it can act like a safety net. Here again, films like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Avatar: The Way of Water” always crush it on the VOD even after long theatrical races. The argument between studios and theaters on this subject persists.

We are certainly not going to settle the debates on the industry level here today. He is simply remarkable in the reflection that “Trolls World Tour”, ” A film which / film entitled “Loud, Garish” and “not quite as bad as the first“” was at the forefront of such a sea change. Everything that came accordingly is not the fault of this film, to be certain, but he still won in the history of cinema.