WAIT, WHAT? Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas Film 'Deep Water' Stricken from Theatrical Release Calendar! What Does This Say About the Fate of the Movie Theater?
The upcoming Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas film, Deep Water, is no longer set to be released in theaters. Instead, according to a Deadline exclusive, the highly-anticipated erotic thriller will stream directly to Hulu domestically and Amazon internationally. The film was set to be released in theaters early in the new year: January 14, 2022. Last week, however, the movie was pulled from the Disney Theatrical release calendar. A date has not yet been set for the streaming release of the film.
This decision comes as a reaction to the under performance of more adult content in theaters. This is largely influenced by the under performance of the recent release of Stephen Spielberg's West Side Story. The film wildly underperformed in the box offices with only a $10.5M opening weekend. Even successful dramas, such as House of Gucci, which came in at $41 million, are wildly underperforming in comparison to more family-friendly content such as Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Tom Holland film is predicted to see a $135M-$155M opening weekend, shattering the numbers of the previously stated films by hundreds of thousands.
Could this be the start of a new future for the film industry? At the height of the pandemic, everything was sent directly to streaming. Did we grow comfortable with the convenience? Will adults continue to opt for a more fiscally responsible night in instead of a more expensive night out on the town? We will have to see what the future holds in this regard and what it means for the movie theaters we know and love.
