Netflix has made a dual commitment to comedian Eric Andre. It will air his “Eric Andre: Legalize Everything” special on June 23.
The streamer has also bought the film “Bad Trip” from MGM — in which Andre does triple duty as star, producer and co-writer. The original plan was for “Bad Trip” to premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March, and hit movie theaters later this year.
The pandemic upended all releases and has resulted in a straight-to-video world for many productions.
For MGM’s Orion label, selling to a major streamer gives it a chance to recoup costs, while talent sees their work on screen. And with production halted, movies supply much needed new content, reports Bloomberg. It notes that Netflix was on an acquisition hunt pre-COVID-19, buying “The Cloverfield Paradox” and “The Lovebirds,” which it bought from Paramount after a cinema debut was nixed.
Other studios are on board, too.
Noting the $100 million streaming success of “Trolls World Tour,” Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, said the company would continue to release movies in theaters and stream in future.
Similarly, Disney executive chairman Bob Iger says more Disney releases may be headed for Disney+. That follows the new reality in theatrical releases. “Artemis Flow” will now debut on the streaming platform after it was originally slated for theaters on May 29.