Digital movie release date tracking used to just be for folks trying to figure out when they could download films they loved in theaters. But now that movie theaters are shut down due to coronavirus concerns, we're seeing a new trend.
Right now, we're seeing more and more movies jump to digital release ahead of schedule, including films that were just in theaters. And it's not hard to see why. People are in desperate need of entertainment, and studios aren't making any money from empty theaters.
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- How to watch Trolls World Tour online right now
Highlights of this next month-plus include the theatrical-length adaptation of TruTV's Impractical Jokers, Like a Boss (starring Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek), and — in great news for kids — Trolls World Tour. Parents looking for something less childish should check out Arkansas, a star-studded drug drama with the likes of Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn and Vivica A. Fox.
Even film festivals are going online. SXSW and Amazon just announced a 10-day "online film festival" where films will be free on Amazon — no Prime account needed.
Digital movie releases already released on VOD
- The Call of the Wild
- Bad Boys for Life
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Onward
- Bloodshot
- Birds of Prey
- Emma
- The Hunt
- The Invisible Man
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
April 1
- Impractical Jokers: The Movie
Five weeks after Murr, Q, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano hit theaters, their film has now arrived on video on demand. The film combines a fictional story of high school humiliation with more real-life hidden camera challenges, which is the content that made these guys household names. And since that childhood melodrama takes place in the 90's, the film has a hodge-podge of celebrity cameos, including Paula Abdul, Joey Fatone and Jaden Smith.
April 3
- Rogue Warfare: The Hunt
- It Started as Joke
It Started as Joke documents the 10-year run of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival. Yes, the voice of Gene Belcher on Bob's Burgers has his own alternative comedy festival, and we're really excited to see a behind the scenes view of the production.
- Extra Ordinary
OK, I get it, you really wish we could all go back to the movies. But what if I told you that someone's trying to get a virtual hookup going? Well, details are sparse, but a "virtual ticket" — sold via the Kino Lorber company — will let you see this bizarre horror/rom-com film starring Will Forte playing a washed up rock star who's trying to sell his soul to bring his career back to life. Soon enough, he runs afoul of Rose, a driving instructor who can talk to beings in the spirit world.
- Brahms: The Boy II
April 7
- Ip Man 4
Donnie Yen is back in the role of Wing Chun master Ip Man, and now he's going to San Francisco. This final chapter of the Ip Man saga sees the titular character — who's currently in the 1960's — deal with a lot of bigoted Ugly American stereotypes, and sort things out in the community. Ip Man's student Bruce Lee (Danny Chan) is also up to his neck in uncomfortable moments, as the local martial arts community is aggrieved that he's opened his own Wing Chun school.
- The Last Full Measure
- Like a Boss
If you like your guilty pleasure comedy to have a splash of soap opera dynamics, check out what happens when two friends (played by Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne) collide with a beauty product mogul (played by Salma Hayek) in a war for control of the board room. While critics didn't exactly take to it, this certainly seems like the kind of comedy we could all use — where people experience problems that are completely trivial to our own.
- My Comic Book Country
- Same Boat
April 10
- Trolls World Tour
One of the bigger movies to skip right past the cinema due to coronavirus concerns, Trolls World Tour sees Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake) discover that the world of Trolls is much bigger than their one community. And even better, each of the six Troll tribes is obsessed with a different kind of music: Classical, Country, Funk, Pop, Hard Rock and Techno. The film has a star-studded cast including Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Ron Funches, Sam Rockwell and Gwen Stefani. But it's Ozzy Osbourne and Rachel Bloom's King Thrash and Queen Barb, from the hard rock section, that are out to seek complete dominance and decimation of the other tribes.
Here's everywhere you can watch Trolls World Tour online right now.
- Sea Fever
- We Summon the Darkness
- Green Rush
- Underwater
April 17
- The Quarry
April 21
- Promare
If you're looking for some excellent anime, check out this GKIDS release from last year. It uses a brilliant color palette to showcase a war between different mutant races, the flame-wielding Burnish and the Promare, a race that travels between dimensions. It's got tons of super powered action, even mecha robot fights. It's exactly the kind of movie that certain kids will eat up with a giant ladle.
April 24
- 1BR
- True History of the Kelly Gang
April 28
- The Photograph
- Guns Akimbo
May 5
- Arkansas
I was really eager to see this at SXSW, but alas I've had to mark May 5 as the date I finally get to watch Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) as a bungling pair of drug runners. Of course, everything goes wrong, because there wouldn't be much of a film without that happening. Vince Vaughn, John Malkovich, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Kenneth Williams (yes, Omar, from The Wire) co-star.
- Gretel & Hansel
- Ordinary Love
