Coronavirus continues to change the world around us, every minutes of every hour of every day, and that’s the way it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. With movie theaters around the world temporarily shutting theaters — both AMC and Regal, the two biggest chains in the United States, are closing their doors — studios are looking to push more and more of their recent and upcoming releases to VOD and online.

Yesterday, Universal announced it would make several of its current titles, including The Invisible Man and The Hunt, and at least one big upcoming title, Trolls World Tour, available on demand for a price of $19.99. In response to the news, Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan tweeted that she would not be opposed to a similar plan for her film.

One day later, that’s exactly what happened, as Fandango reports that both Birds of Prey and The Gentlemen are getting bumped-up VOD release dates, and will be available at home on March 24.

It’s hard to say what the “new normal” is, as what is “normal” now is absolutely not normal, and it’s going to change constantly. But I would at least expect this trend to continue. As social distancing and isolation continues — yesterday, President Trump said in his daily briefing that it could continue until at least July or August in some cases — studios are going to feel more and more pressure to continue generating revenue. Plus, there’s going to be a heavy demand from people trapped at home desperate for any kind of escape or entertainment. It absolutely sucks for movie theaters, but it’s at least something for consumers.

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