‘Halloween Kills’ to stream on Peacock at same time it plays in theaters

LOS ANGELES, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Horror flick “Halloween Kills” will stream on Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA.O) Peacock streaming service subsequent month beginning on the identical day it debuts in film theaters, distributor Common Photos mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.

The technique is a shift from Comcast’s earlier plan to ship the movie solely to theaters starting Oct. 15. Hollywood studios have been experimenting with launch patterns as cinemas work to get well from COVID-19 closures and media corporations attempt to increase curiosity of their streaming choices.

Cinema operators together with AMC Leisure (AMC.N), Cineworld Plc (CINE.L) and Cinemark Holdings Inc (CNK.N) say the streaming possibility eats into their enterprise and have urged studios to stay with theater-only debuts.

“Halloween Kills” stars Jamie Lee Curtis in a follow-up to the 2018 revival of the traditional horror franchise. Individuals who wish to stream the brand new film at dwelling will want a subscription to the $5-a-month Peacock Premium or to Peacock Premium Plus, which prices $10 monthly. The movie is not going to be accessible on the free model of Peacock.

Common employed the identical technique for “The Boss Child” animated household sequel in July. That film generated $105.8 million in international field workplace gross sales, and Comcast executives mentioned it additionally helped increase subscribers to Peacock.

For theaters, the Delta variant of COVID-19 has slowed a hoped-for comeback in moviegoing. Upcoming movies scheduled for this yr embrace James Bond film “No Time to Die,” sci-fi epic “Dune” and Marvel film “Eternals.”

Some motion pictures, together with Tom Cruise’s “Prime Gun: Maverick,” have been delayed till subsequent yr.

Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles
Enhancing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio

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