Kane Dane
Universal’s agreement with publishing Trolls World Tour on-demand in the midst of a pandemic has been full of surprises. For beginners, NBCUniversal is shocked by the theater owners by not notifying them in advance that it was going to offer this title on demand. They reacted badly to the anticipated attack on their traditional windows. But the studio also caught its own talent off guard when it announced early premium on-demand plans for the animated tentpole.
Movie Wants Box Office Bonuses
According to the sources the Trolls sequel’s top voice stars, including Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, also were not told ahead of the March 16 announcement that the movie would be available to rent for $20 online. This is not the description of surprise such people usually like, and it is a sensitive matter because compensation for big stars in encouraged movies is mostly attached to box office bonuses.
The stars are now asking for them to be paid, no doubt to the tune of seven figures, but they were still game to publicize the film. It also surprises that the many people despite NBCU’s brag that the Trolls series has scored almost $100 million domestically from the on-demand announcement, the movie is still millions in the red and, in the opinion of some industry experts, may never make a dime. An expert with firsthand knowledge of the studio’s reasoning says that despite the unbelievers, the Universal believes it can make $40 million or more in profit from all income sources.
