Sony to release ‘Bloodshot’ digitally

PTI, Mar 19, 2020, 2:51 PM IST

Los Angeles: With movie theatres shut down around the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sony has decided to release Vin Diesel’s “Bloodshot” available for digital purchase.

Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman said that the decision to release the film digitally was done keeping in mind the “exceedingly rare circumstance” where theatres are closed down.

“Sony Pictures is firmly committed to the theatrical exhibition and we support windowing. This is a unique and exceedingly rare circumstance where theaters have been required to close nationwide for the greater good and Bloodshot is abruptly unavailable in any medium,” Rothman said in a statement.

“Audiences will now have the chance to own Bloodshot right away and see it at home, where we are all spending more time. We are confident that like other businesses hit hard by the virus movie theaters will bounce back strongly, and we will be there to support them,” he added.

The film opened in theatres last Friday but the box office is at its 20-year low.

NBC Universal had also broken the gap between a theatrical and streaming release with “The Invisible Man”, “Emma” and “The Hunt”, which will be made available digitally for 48-hour rental periods as early as this Friday.

Production of movies everywhere has been put on hold with people being advised to stay at home or work from home to avoid the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 200,000 people globally.