Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and movie theaters closing nationwide because of it, Sony has decided to join the fray and have one of their theatrical releases become available early in digital format. The Vin Diesel-starring “Bloodshot,” which was released last Friday in theaters, will be available for digital purchase and rental next Tuesday.
Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman said Wednesday in a statement
"This is a unique and exceedingly rare circumstance where theaters have been required to close nationwide for the greater good and Bloodshot is abruptly unavailable in any medium. Audiences will now have the chance to own Bloodshot right away and see it at home, where we are all spending more time. We are confident that — like other businesses hit hard by the virus — movie theaters will bounce back strongly, and we will be there to support them.”
“Bloodshot,” which opened last Friday to an estimated $9.3 million, is based on the Valiant Entertainment comic book and stars Diesel as a U.S. soldier manipulated into carrying out a series of assassinations for billion-dollar tech.
Universal got the ball rolling last Monday when they announced they would be releasing their theatrical releases for February and March (“The Invisible Man,” “Emma,” and “The Hunt) to VOD this coming Friday. It was expected that this decision from Universal would spill into a domino-effect-like cataclysm of change in the American film industry. At the moment, only 20% of U.S. movie theaters remain open due to the Coronavirus pandemic but expect that number to go down to the single digits within the next week or two as the country enters an even stricter shutdown.