Halloween Kills producer Jason Blum explains why the slasher movie is debuting on streaming as well as in theaters. Following the success of 2018's reboot, the Halloween franchise is pushing forward with two additional sequels, the first of which will arrive in just a few weeks. Halloween Kills will pick up right where the 2018 movie left off, with the Strode women (led once again by Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie) believing they've finally gained the upper hand over Michael Myers. However, it won't be long before he escapes from the burning house he was trapped in and embarks on another killing spree across Haddonfield.
Halloween Kills was once scheduled for release in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic delayed it to this year. Though 2021 has seen incredible strides when it comes to the box office recovery, there's still concern over movie theater attendance amid high case numbers caused by the Delta variant. As a result, Halloween Kills will premiere day and date on Peacock on October 15. Subscribers won't have to pay any additional fees to see the movie. The move was a bit surprising since horror films typically play better in theaters.
While some might believe the decision to shift Halloween Kills to Peacock came from Universal, it was actually producer Jason Blum who wanted the streaming release. As he explained to Collider while promoting Amazon's Welcome to Blumhouse series, he didn't want Halloween Kills to suffer the same fate as his company's Freaky, which arrived last year. Blum explained:
It was my idea to do it. [Peacock] didn't approach me. I approached them. I, like everyone else, am a big believer in the theatrical experience. I think eventually I think there should be windows. I think Universal's strategy of the three-week window is a great strategy, but I had a bad distribution experience with Freaky. That movie is a great movie, and it didn't get seen because the distribution of it got all twisted up. My fault.
I didn't want to go through that experience again. I didn't want to have a movie that I'm really proud of that I think is great and have there be an excuse why people didn't see it. So I'm the one who pitched Universal. And then I pitched Jamie and David, and it was my idea. I stand behind it. I'm glad that we're doing it.
Freaky debuted exclusively in theaters last November, making it one of the few major studio movies to brave a theatrical release. At the time, though theaters began reopening in late August, attendance was disappointingly low. Freaky earned positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, but it only pulled in $9 million domestically. Nowadays, movie theaters are far busier places, as evidenced by the impressive successes of movies like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and fellow horror movie Candyman.
At the same time, there are still films that are struggling to reach pre-pandemic numbers, so Blum's decision to change Halloween Kills' release plan is understandable. Though many want the box office to get back to normal, streaming is still a far safer bet. This way, audiences have options when it comes to how they want to see the movie. If they want to go to the theater, that's great. But if they can't or are anxious at the prospect, they have the chance to watch Michael brutally kill people from the safety of their own couches. That seems like a fair deal.
Source: Collider
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