Believe it or not, there are a lot of people that love mindless Gerard Butler-led action films. There’s a reason why the actor is able to headline massive films that end up turning profits at the box office. And theaters were banking on this being the case for his latest feature, the much-delayed “Greenland.” Unfortunately, the STX film is just the latest high-profile release to opt-out of a U.S. theatrical release.
According to Deadline, STX has decided to go the PVOD route for “Greenland,” which was original scheduled for a spring release before being pushed back to this fall thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the film was pulled from the schedule completely, without a new date being given. Apparently, that’s because the studio was working out a deal that would help it recover some of the costs of the world-ending disaster film and find a new home for it.
But the PVOD aspect of the deal, which is similar to how we’ve seen other studios release films during the pandemic, is nothing new. The really interesting aspect of this is the amount of money that HBO has paid to land the film’s exclusive PayTV and streaming rights.
Update: As of now, “Greenland” will arrive on PVOD to purchase on October 13. The film will then be available to rent on October 27. Update: a source close to STX tells us these PVOD dates are incorrect and none have actually been released and or are official yet.
Again, pretty typical stuff. But in early 2021, “Greenland” will make its way to HBO on the network and the company’s HBO Max streaming platform, exclusively. And to ensure that exclusivity, it’s being reported the network had to pay between $20 million and $30 million. For perspective, that’s way more than what HBO paid to land the distribution rights for “Bad Education,” starring Hugh Jackman, which was nominated for a bunch of awards and played last year’s festivals.
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So, when you scoff at “Greenland” and wonder who watches that sort of mindless action junk, keep in mind that you are in the minority. People love those movies and Gerard Butler, and HBO is well aware of how much that film is worth on its platforms.