Universal releasing The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma to video-on-demand March 20

With movie theatres around the world shutting down outright (or operating at reduced capacity) due to the coronavirus outbreak, Universal Home Video has announced that a number of new releases will be available to rent on VOD beginning on Friday, March 20.

According to a story in The Hollywood Reporter, The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma will be available for $19.99 U.S. for a 48-hour rental. This is a huge move for the studio, eliminating the months-long wait between a film’s theatrical release and its debut on streaming services. In addition, Trolls World Tour will be available on-demand April 10, the same day it hits theatres.

NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell: “Universal Pictures has a broad and diverse range of movies with 2020 being no exception. Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said Shell. “We hope and believe that people will still go to the movies in theaters where available, but we understand that for people in different areas of the world that is increasingly becoming less possible.”

A number of high profile 2020 releases have been pushed back or taken off the schedule completely in the past few days, including the new James Bond film No Time To Die (pushed from April until November 2020), Fast & Furious 9 (pushed back an entire year to May 2020), and Mulan and A Quiet Place II, which were scheduled to open this month and currently do not have release dates.

The Quebec government has ordered movie theatres to close for two weeks to limit the spread of coronavirus.