Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, movie theaters across the globe have temporarily shut their doors, including local theaters AMC and Magnolia Theaters. Instead of movies not being displayed at this time of year, production companies have decided to feature these movies on demand. 

Rather than postponing release dates, many movie companies are deciding to convert their movies straight to on-demand so that anyone can watch these movies from the comfort of their home. Some of the movies switching to on-demand include “Trolls World Tour,” “Onward” and “Birds of Prey.” Movies can also be rented on the Itunes store, Disney+ or Prime Video. 

“I bought trolls on iTunes because my little brother Will and I were looking forward to watching it. It was a good investment because now I have it to watch for a few days. It was nice to watch it in the comfort of our own home,” junior at FAU High School, James Hemmingway, said.

The DreamWorks Animation’ “Trolls World Tour” movie was supposed to be released in theaters on April 10. Universal Studios will make their films currently in theaters available for purchase online. These films include “The Hunt,” “Invisible Man” and “Emma.” Anyone will be able to rent these movies for a 48 hour rental service for $19.99. 

“Trolls World Tour” is one of few Universal Pictures films to be released on demand. The film was a quick impulse decision to send it to online services to make its debut to the world. “Mulan” and “Fast and Furious 9” are two other Universal Pictures movies that have decided to postpone their release dates until further notice instead of transferring to online services. 

“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,” NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell said in a statement.

Many Disney Productions’ movies are being released onto Disney+, the new online application for all movies and TV shows that have been made by Disney, instead of heading into theaters. Some examples of those films are “Onward” and “Frozen 2”. 

Not only are movies being released to online services before theaters, but also TV shows are being released to online services and to live TV earlier due to high viewer turnout due to everyone at home in quarantine. 

“As expected, ratings for syndicated shows in the week ended March 22 were largely up as viewers stayed home amid the coronavirus pandemic. That held true even though preemptions were common throughout the week due to breaking news coverage, and even though many shows were in repeats due to production being halted as people were sent home across the country,” Broadcastings+Cable.com said. While staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are plenty of movies and TV shows to watch due to them being supplied through on demand.

While staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are plenty of movies and TV shows to watch due to them being supplied through on demand.