Janelle Monáe's Horror Thriller ANTEBELLUM is Skipping Theaters and Going To VOD
Another movie theatrical release bites the dust. Lionsgate has decided to pull the upcoming Janelle Monáe horror-thriller Antebellum from its theatrical release and will instead release it on premium VOD services.
The movie was supposed to be released in theater in August, but will now be released digitally on September 18th. They have yet to announce how much it will cost to rent, but I imagine that it will be in the range of $20-$30 like all of the other VOD releases that we’ve seen.
I get why studios are releasing movies on VOD, but with that change, I’ve found myself immediately losing interest in watching them. While I was looking forward to seeing Antebellum, watching it at home just doesn’t interest me. There are way too many distractions at home for me to really enjoy watching movies there for me to fully enjoy it and justify the cost. At this point, I’ll just wait until it’s available to watch on a streaming service that I subscribe to.
Lionsgate Motion Pictures Group chairman Joe Drake said in a statement:
“While the theatrical experience will always be the heart of our business, we are thrilled that we are able to seize the opportunity to match Gerard and Chris’s urgent and immediate film with a release strategy befitting this moment of extraordinary change. Gerard and Chris are storytellers whose work beats with authenticity — not only will this film entertain and thrill audiences worldwide, but spark a discussion about our current world.”
The film was written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Ren and they said in a joint statement:
“While we designed ‘Antebellum’ to be consumed as a communal experience in the theater, we are thrilled by the unique opportunity we have to pivot to a different kind of communal moment in our culture. As we face the realities of systemic racism in our country, which have crescendoed to this current inflection point in 2020, we understand how imperative it is to bring ‘Antebellum’ to the broadest audience possible, while also prioritizing health and safety. It is our ardent hope that by sharing our film widely, both nationally and internationally, we will transform the moviegoing experience from home into a true event.”
Antebellum tells the story of “successful author Veronica Henley (Monáe), who finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late.”
The film also stars Kiersey Clemons (Sweetheart), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious, American Horror Story), Jena Malone (The Hunger Games trilogy, The Neon Demon), Eric Lange (Narcos), Jack Huston (Ben-Hur), Tongayi Chirisa (Crusoe), Marque Richardson II, Rob Aramayo, and Lily Cowles.
Will any of you be renting the film to watch from home?
Source: Variety