Missed this speculation from Washington Post and Cinemablend last month. Titles skipping theatrical release in 2020? Yes, we all know it’s happening.
In light of the number of titles that have skipped a theater release, Disney recent title delay shuffleboard (see: YIKES – Disney Postpones Black Widow, West Side Story, Death On The Nile … more), it is an increasingly realistic possibility.
One of my five most anticipated movies of 2020, is the sequel Coming 2 America (love that title for a sequel), with Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and others returning to their iconic 80s comedy roles. It has not moved from its original scheduled release date of December 18 yet …
As of right now, Craig Brewer’s Coming 2 America appears to be in the former camp, set to hit the big screen just in time for Christmas, but if current rumors pan out then that may not be true for too long. According to Washington Post reporter Steven Zeitchik, there have been conversations going on behind the scenes at Paramount Pictures that could eventually lead to the Eddie Murphy-starring sequel finding distribution on a streaming service instead of playing in theaters.
Could Coming To America 2 Be Heading To A Streaming Service? – CINEMABLEND
I’d like to see Coming 2 America show up in theaters first. I definitely don’t want it to do a Bill & Ted Face The Music and go straight to VOD, but can imagine it being a featured launch title for Paramount+ as part of their CBS All Access rebranding “in early 2021” (see: ViacomCBS announces new plus-sized name for expanded CBS All Access: Paramount+)
Eddie Murphy is enjoying a little 80s resurgence as new fans are realizing he once had a hit song called “Party All The Time” in addition that, yes, he is funny and can do adult humor after his role in Dolemite Is My Name.
Imagine it is 1985. Ronald Reagan is the president. Back to the Future dominates in movie theaters. Commodore Computers launches the Amiga personal computer. And comedy superstar Eddie Murphy—perhaps the most gifted comedian to ever get his start on Saturday Night Live —puts out How Could It Be, an album featuring the song “Party All the Time.” The music is characterized by one critic as “Gumby goes disco” but it makes it to no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
I was more into 80s hard rock bands than pop dance songs, but did kind of groove on Murphy’s tune.
Back to Coming 2 America. What’s your preference for the release? A theatrical release in December as planned? Off to premiere on a streaming channels of choice? VOD like Bill & Ted Face The Music? Premium VOD + streaming a la Mulan?
Movies, Movies, Movies 
My guess is that if physical cinemas aren’t on option, the studios will chase the home-viewing pound, so premium sales will be seen as the best option if further delays are off the table…
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I’d have to go back and see how Coming to America did internationally, as studios are heavily weighing their moves right now on what’s going on outside the US. No idea if that will still be the case in December.
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I noted that a number of smaller cinemas in the UK showed Tenet opening week, when they usually wouldn’t have been able to afford it till week 4 or 5. That suggests some kind of sweetheart deal was done, and I guess that kind of internal arrangement is required for future releases. We’ll see, but the game is changing every day…
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Borat going straight to Prime suggests that may be a favoured way forward…
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Pre-pandemic when I was talking about this, it was unheard of to even discuss this stuff. Now, it’s becoming the norm. If the studios and theaters had worked out a better system for certain movies being friendly to release outside theatrical, maybe even cutting them into the profits like Universal did with the VOD, this could have made a much smoother, consistent program.
Instead, we’ve got Bill & Ted essentially treated as an outcast for the day and date delivery and that movie got mostly positive reviews. It is one of the better new movies to have been released recently and the big 3 theaters refused to screen it because it didn’t respect the theatrical window. When you’re business is in survivalist mode, you don’t get on a pedestal, you work with people. These big three chains deserve to go out of busijness if they won’t figure out a way to work with others better and be creative in these times.
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I could see it moving to Paramount+ if theaters are not open enough. Shame though.
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