And it’s another Lionsgate film that’s skipping theatrical. We can confirm that the Sarah Paulson horror movie Run is moving off the theatrical release schedule and heading to Hulu.
The streamer has acquired domestic rights from Lionsgate in what is reported to be a competitive situation. Last week, the mini-major announced that its Janelle Monae horror movie Antebellum was skipping the big screen stateside for PVOD on all digital platforms on Sept. 18.
Like Antebellum, Run will be released overseas theatrically, but let’s face it, you need a domestic release to prop these movies’ profiles up. Even though the big circuits are opening in the near future, with Cinemark opening the doors to 43 venues this weekend, and AMC and Regal following on Aug. 21, increasingly distributors are deciding to forgo low-to-mid budget movies on the big screen, and put them straight into the home. Also, with everyone drunk on the PVOD and streaming release, it’s not certain that this model is working. Will audiences find these smaller genre films if they’re avoiding a domestic release entirely? All I can tell you is that exhibition, even the handful of hard-tops that are open, are starving for titles.
Run is from Searching flimmaker Aneesh Chaganty, who directed and wrote the pic. The movie follows a homeschooled teenager who begins to suspect her mother is keeping a dark secret from her. The movie was originally scheduled to have a May 8 theatrical release before the pandemic shutdown the big theater chains in mid-March.