By Megan Salzano
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a serious strain on most businesses in the U.S., and movie theater sales are no different. In fact, by March theater sales had hit a 20-year low, according to published reports.
However, movie making waits for no pandemic. Studios from Warner Bros. to Paramount and even Dreamworks have dozens of movies set to be released in 2020. While theatrical releases are no longer a viable option for the short term, some of those studios are taking advantage of today’s technological advancement and allowing those movies to go straight to digital release for your at-home viewing pleasure. It might boost their bottom line, but the goal is also to help combat the COVID-19 quarantine blues.
Below are seven of the most talked about and most notable to date, plus several others worth watching.
Birds of Prey
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ewan MacGregor, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina
About the film: “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.”—DC Universe (Warner Bros.)
Emma
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy, Josh O’Connor, Johnny Flynn, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Autumn de Wilde
About the film: “Jane Austen’s beloved comedy about finding your equal and earning your happy ending is reimagined in this delicious new film adaptation of EMMA. Handsome, clever and rich, Emma Woodhouse is a restless “queen bee” without rivals in her sleepy little English town. In this glittering satire of social class, Emma must navigate her way through the challenges of growing up, misguided matches and romantic missteps to realize the love that has been there all along.” —Focus Features
The Hunt
Starring: Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinhotlz, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Hilary Swank, Glenn Howerton, Ethan Suplee
“About the film: In this submersive satire, several elites gather for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt ordinary Americans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of The Hunted, Crystal, knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off one by one as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman at the center of it all.” —Universal Studios
The Invisible Man
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Storm Reid, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge
About the film: “What you can’t see can hurt you. Elisabeth Moss stars in a terrifying modern tale of obsession inspired by Universal’s classic monster character. Trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister, their childhood friend and his teenage daughter. But when Cecilia’s abusive ex commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax.” —Universal Studios
Onward
Starring: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer
About the film: “In Disney and Pixar’s Onward, two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, get an unexpected opportunity to spend one more day with their late dad and embark on an extraordinary quest aboard Barley’s epic van Guinevere. Like any good quest, their journey is filled with magic spells, cryptic maps, impossible obstacles and unimaginable discoveries. But when the boys’ fearless mom Laurel realizes that her sons are missing, she teams up with a part-lion, part-bat, part-scorpion, former warrior–aka The Manticore– and heads off to find them.” —Disney and Pixar
Sonic The Hedgehog
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden
About the film: “The world needed a hero, we got a hedgehog. Powered with incredible speed, Sonic The Hedgehog, a.k.a The Blue Blur, embraces his new home on Earth. That is, until he accidentally knocks out the power grid and sparks the attention of super-uncool evil genius Dr. Robotnik. Now, it’s super-villain vs. super-sonic in an all-out race across the globe to stop Robotnik from using Sonic’s unique power for world domination.”—Paramount Pictures
Trolls World Tour
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson, Jamie Dornan, Rachel Bloom, Kunal Nayyar
About the film: “After the events of the first film, Poppy and Branch discover that they are but one of six different Troll tribes scattered over six different lands, each devoted to a different form of music: Pop, Funk, Classical, Techno, Country and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger, and a whole lot louder, as member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb, aided by her father King Thrash, wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme.” —Dreamworks
Other movies available now and through May 8:
- Arkansas
- Bad Therapy
- Banana Split
- Bloodshot
- Endings, Beginnings
- I Still Believe
- Rogue Warfare: The Hunt
- Sea Fever
- Tape
- The Gentlemen
- The Quarry
- The Way Back
- True History of the Kelly Gang
- Vivarium
- We Summon The Darkness