Sony Just Got Over $100 Million To Send A Major Movie To Streaming Instead Of Theaters
Sony has sold one of their biggest movies to a streaming outlet for over $100 million.
This article is more than 2 years old
The final installment in the Hotel Transylvania franchise is heading straight to Amazon Prime. According to Variety, Sony Pictures Animation and the streamer are nearing a deal for over $100 million for the animated feature, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, to stream globally on Amazon Prime Video.
Hotel Transylvania has been one of the most successful family franchises for Sony, with the first three movies earning more than $1.3 billion at the global box office since 2012. But the surge in Covid-19 cases has made a theatrical exhibition of family movies untenable since there is no vaccine for children under 12 yet.
With New York City enacting a vaccine mandate for indoor venues on Tuesday, and other major cities seriously considering their own, sources told the publication that Sony began exploring an alternative release for the fourth Hotel Transylvania movie in early August. The film had been slated to open in theaters on October 1st.
Additionally, a source with knowledge of the groundbreaking deal told Variety that the studio will retain rights to home entertainment, linear television, and Chinese exhibition. Interestingly, Sony is the only major studio without a dedicated streaming service. But this hasn’t stopped them from has striking deals for films on their 2020 and 2021 slates across the streaming ecosystem.
In 2020, Sony placed Greyhound with Apple TV Plus, An American Pickle with HBO Max, and Happiest Season with Hulu. This year, Sony has worked with Netflix for Fatherhood, The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Vivo, and with Amazon for Cinderella which will debut on September 3rd.
The Hotel Transylvania series focuses on the adventures surrounding monsters who reside in the titular Hotel Transylvania – a plaza hotel where monsters can relax and get away from humans due to fear of persecution. Many of the primary characters are loosely based on or are parodies of the Universal Movie Monsters
Billed as the final chapter of the series, Sony’s Hotel Transylvania: Transformania is directed by Derek Drymon and Jennifer Kluska from a script by Amos Vernon, Nunzio Randazzo, and executive producer Genndy Tartakovsky. Brian Hull and Brad Abrell are respectively voicing the roles of Dracula and Frankenstein, replacing original stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James.
The rest of the cast is returning, including Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Kathryn Hahn, Jim Gaffigan, Molly Shannon, Keegan-Michael Key, and Fran Drescher. Gomez is also executive producing, along with Michelle Murdocca.
The story begins when Van Helsing’s mysterious invention (the “Monsterfication Ray”) goes haywire, transforming Drac and his monster pals into humans, while Johnny becomes a dragon! In their new mismatched bodies, Drac is stripped of his powers, and an exuberant Johnny is loving life as a dragon.
Now they must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it’s too late – and before they drive each other crazy. With help from Mavis and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch back before their transformations become permanent.
