Streaming service Peacock acquired distribution rights for David Gordon Green’s horror movie Halloween Kills. This news arrived just as the film premiered during the last week’s Venice Film Festival. AVClub reports that the latest showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode will hit the paid tier of the NBC-owned streaming service on October 15 – the same date it comes to theaters.
While this decision changes Universal’s initial plans to release the film theatrically, it is hardly surprising. A second installment in the new trilogy of Halloween movies – co-written by Green and his frequent collaborator, actor Danny McBride – Halloween Kills was to come out on October 16, 2020. Then, in July 2020, Universal wisely decided to postpone the release for an entire year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Last April, Universal caused a furor when it released its CGI-animated film Trolls: World Tour simultaneously on streaming and in cinemas without consulting movie theater owners first. This eventually led to new distribution agreement between the studio and movie theater chains like AMC. Furthermore, it set up a precedent for others to follow. By late 2020, Disney was releasing some of its new titles on Disney Plus. Early this year, Warner Bros. announced it will release its entire 2021 slate of films simultaneously in cinemas and on streaming.
