Disney's 'Onward' & first-run Universal films make Friday iTunes home premiere

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2020
Several films that are still in theaters are making their "home premiere" on iTunes and other platforms on Friday, including a batch of NBCUniversal titles and Disney's "Onward."


"Emma" is one of a trio of films that NBCUniversal has made available to rent from home on Friday.


Earlier in March, NBCUniversal said it would make a handful of new theatrical releases available to watch at home due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. While it wasn't clear if those movies would make it to iTunes, a trio of new films have since appeared on March 20.

As of Friday, iTunes users are now able to rent Blumhouse thriller "The Hunt," Elisabeth Moss-headed horror film "The Invisible Man," and Jane Austen adaptation "Emma." The rentals cost $20 for a 48-hour period. (While they're also available in standard definition, the cost is the same.)

Disney's latest Pixar film, "Onward," will also be made available to purchase later on Friday night. Users can preorder it on iTunes. Disney+ subscribers will be able to stream the film starting April 3.

Looking ahead, NBCUniversal will also make upcoming releases available on home media the day they debut, starting with DreamWorks Animation's "Trolls World Tour" on April 10, with other releases to follow.

Apple users will be able to see the new films on iTunes or in the Apple TV app across their devices, including iPhones, Macs and Apple TV set-top boxes.

Other studios are looking to make similar changes to their release timeline. According to Variety, Warner Bros. will make "Birds of Prey" available for purchase on March 24 and for rental sometime in April, earlier than originally expected. Warner Bros. film "Just Mercy" will also become available to rent on the same day.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    sacto joesacto joe Posts: 895member
    IMHO, the price for rentals is twice what it should be. I suspect that’s largely because the folks that own these properties are trying to make up for lost revenue, and demanding a major price hike from Apple.

    It’s dumb. Cutting their price in half will more than double the folks who rent the movies. As it is, many will choose to wait for the price to come down. Why pay for a rental when you can wait and pay the same price to own it?
  • Reply 2 of 6
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,360member
    Charging people more than it would cost to see it at a theater is unconscionable. Coupled with streaming services cutting throughput to 480p, executives should be pilloried. There's just no way I'd pay $20 for a rental, and an SD rental at that. 
  • Reply 3 of 6
    ajminnjajminnj Posts: 40member
    sacto joe said:
    IMHO, the price for rentals is twice what it should be. I suspect that’s largely because the folks that own these properties are trying to make up for lost revenue, and demanding a major price hike from Apple.

    It’s dumb. Cutting their price in half will more than double the folks who rent the movies. As it is, many will choose to wait for the price to come down. Why pay for a rental when you can wait and pay the same price to own it?
    macgui said:
    Charging people more than it would cost to see it at a theater is unconscionable. Coupled with streaming services cutting throughput to 480p, executives should be pilloried. There's just no way I'd pay $20 for a rental, and an SD rental at that. 
    While I would like to see these rentals cheaper (Who would not), I am comparing it to taking my family of 6 at $12 each.  $20 is a lot cheaper than $72 + popcorn.  Not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.
    danvdrravnorodom
  • Reply 4 of 6
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    sacto joe said:
    IMHO, the price for rentals is twice what it should be. I suspect that’s largely because the folks that own these properties are trying to make up for lost revenue, and demanding a major price hike from Apple.

    It’s dumb. Cutting their price in half will more than double the folks who rent the movies. As it is, many will choose to wait for the price to come down. Why pay for a rental when you can wait and pay the same price to own it?
    I think the prices are high because they probably have to do a revenue split with the theaters. Movies are typically released with an exclusive time period for theatrical and the current environment basically breaks those preexisting legal agreements.
    ravnorodom
  • Reply 5 of 6
    danvdrdanvdr Posts: 25member
    ajminnj said:
    While I would like to see these rentals cheaper (Who would not), I am comparing it to taking my family of 6 at $12 each.  $20 is a lot cheaper than $72 + popcorn.  Not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.
    Not coming down with COVID--priceless.
    SpamSandwichravnorodom
  • Reply 6 of 6
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,168member
    ajminnj said:
    sacto joe said:
    IMHO, the price for rentals is twice what it should be. I suspect that’s largely because the folks that own these properties are trying to make up for lost revenue, and demanding a major price hike from Apple.

    It’s dumb. Cutting their price in half will more than double the folks who rent the movies. As it is, many will choose to wait for the price to come down. Why pay for a rental when you can wait and pay the same price to own it?
    macgui said:
    Charging people more than it would cost to see it at a theater is unconscionable. Coupled with streaming services cutting throughput to 480p, executives should be pilloried. There's just no way I'd pay $20 for a rental, and an SD rental at that. 
    While I would like to see these rentals cheaper (Who would not), I am comparing it to taking my family of 6 at $12 each.  $20 is a lot cheaper than $72 + popcorn.  Not quite as unreasonable as it first seems.
    Well, yes you could compare it to going to a cinema with a family of six. But you are not doing anything like that. You are watching it on your TV.
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