‘Trolls World Tour’ scores record digital debut

LOS ANGELES – “Trolls World Tour” became the biggest digital debut of all time this weekend, Universal Pictures said Monday.

The animated sequel featuring the voices of Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick was No. 1 on all the major platforms, including Apple, Amazon and Comcast. FandangoNow also said the release of “Trolls World Tour” helped the service have its best weekend ever. It was also its most preordered film ever.

“Trolls World Tour” was the first film from a major studio to debut on digital platforms on the same date as its theatrical release due to the coronavirus pandemic. It also played in 21 drive-in theatres over the weekend that have remained open.

Most traditional theatres have closed indefinitely, forcing studios to push planned releases back a number of months. Many films that had already hit theatres, including Universal titles like “The Hunt” and “Emma,” are now available for digital purchase or rental.

“Trolls World Tour” was an outlier, however, in keeping its release date. Specific numbers were not provided.