Universal Film Entertainment Group and the streaming service Peacock have made a big announcement. The sequel to everyone’s favourite The Boss Baby, The Boss Baby: Family Business, is set to hit the theaters and release on Peacock simultaneously and we cannot keep calm! Boss Baby 2 will now be available for the fans on both mediums earlier than expected. After a lot of rescheduling, from 26 March to 17 September, the movie will finally be released on 2 July 2021.
Universal Pictures had a phenomenal box office weekend overseas, all thanks to F9 making a mammoth $163 million opening. Although the film is yet to release on streaming platforms and in the US, the positive response from the international release could also be a reason for its earlier release.
UFEG isn’t the first one to capitalize on the idea of having a simultaneous release on the OTT platform and theatres. WarnerMedia and Disney have done it in the past by coming up with the same day-and-date releases on their own streaming platforms.
If you wish to watch Boss Baby 2 on Peacock, you will need to subscribe to two of their uppercost plans costing $4.99 and $9.99 a month. Availing the uppermost subscription also comes with added advantages like zero advertisements. So, you can indulge in watching the animated flick in an uninterrupted ad-free environment.
Considering that 4 July is a holiday for the Americans, the theatrical release is quite timely and set to make it big in its opening weekend itself. It is not the first time Universal Studios have executed this stellar idea. They released The Croods: A New Age just before Thanksgiving and the viewership shot up because of the given public holiday. Boss Baby’s first film release was in 2017 and it managed to garner a massive response collecting $527.9 million worldwide. We cannot expect the same business the prequel did in the pre-pandemic era, but the stakes are high yet again. It will be interesting to see how the film fares since the pandemic is not fully dormant currently.
Universal Pictures president Domestic Distribution Jim Orr said, “Families are at the heart of our decision today to make DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby: Family Business available to everyone this July Fourth weekend, and to give those families the freedom to choose whether to see this joyful, hilarious and heartfelt film from a big-screen theater seat or from the comfort of their own homes on Peacock.”
Added NBCUniversal Direct-to-Consumer and International chairman Matt Strauss, “DreamWorks Animation films, from Trolls World Tour to Shrek and beyond are among Peacock’s top-performing titles to date, and we’re certain that The Boss Baby: Family Business is sure to become this summer’s ultimate streaming event.”
Universal has more than 7.8K theaters, out of which around 5,889 are expected to be completely functioning by the 4th July weekend. Peacock boasts over 52 million new subscribers since April 2020 and DreamWork Animation’s decision of taking Boss Baby 2 to every household will only increase the figures manifold.
The Boss Baby: Family Business is directed by returning filmmaker Tom McGrath and is produced by Jeff Hermann.