5 Years Ago, The Least Likely Movie Imaginable Changed Hollywood Forever
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If you’re a parent with a kid of a certain age, there’s a damn good chance you’ve seen at least one of the “Trolls” movies. They are wildly popular and now ranks as one of the more successful toy-to-screen adaptations in modern Hollywood history. The first “Trolls” film was released in 2016 during Hollywood’s 2010s franchise boom. It was a solid hit that gave rise to a sequel, which arrived in the form of 2020’s “Trolls World Tour.” On the surface, that movie seemed to be an unassuming, harmless animated follow-up to a hit film aimed at kids. In reality, it helped change Hollywood forever.
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Let’s rewind the clocks a bit. It’s March 2020 and movie theaters all around the world have been forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The box office is on life support, with drive-ins making an unexpected comeback. Hollywood studios are fearful of an uncertain future and are busy looking for answers. It’s at this point that Universal Pictures decided to make the unprecedented move to release a brand new, big-budget film that was intended for theaters at home for people to watch for a premium fee. Hence, the birth of Premium Video On Demand, aka PVOD.
Notable 2020 films such as “Bloodshot” and “Birds of Prey,” among others, were released on VOD early after having their theatrical runs cut short by the pandemic. This was an understandable measure in a time of critics. However, “Trolls World Tour” had yet to hit the big screen, so Universal’s change in strategy was something else altogether. It proved to be a decision that permanently altered the way we watch movies, for better or worse — and, once again, it all rested on the shoulders of an animated sequel about singing Trolls dolls.
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Let’s rewind the clock even further back for a moment. The notion of renting movies at home and VOD as we know it was nothing new in early 2020, but it had largely been reserved for smaller movies or films that had already gone through their theatrical life cycle. Be that as it may, as DVD sales began to decline, studios wanted to make up that revenue somewhere.
Trolls World Tour became a first-of-its-kind smash hit
Universal Pictures
As The Wall Street Journal reported in 2010, Time Warner Cable Inc. made a pitch to Hollywood at large where people could watch a movie at home 30 days after its theatrical release for $20 or $30. It didn’t go over well. Going over even less well was Universal’s release of its comedy “Tower Heist” on VOD for an eye-popping $60 back in 2011 just three weeks after it hit theaters. Cinemark boycotted the movie, so Universal backed down rather quickly.
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In other words, studios were flirting with this idea for a full decade before the pandemic. All the while, movie theater owners were arguing against the notion, suggesting it would eat into their profits. The pandemic simply created a scenario that took away the bargaining chip that theaters had, with Universal pulling the trigger on the PVOD experiment, releasing “Trolls World Tour” on April 10, 2020, for $20 at home. It was, by all accounts, a resounding success.
In just three weeks of release on VOD, “Trolls World Tour” made around $100 million in revenue for Universal. Yes, the movie was also playing in theaters, but that did little good when the vast majority of theaters around the world were closed. For context, the first “Trolls” made $342 million worldwide during its entire theatrical run, with theaters keeping about half of the money from ticket sales. With VOD, studios keep a larger share of the revenue. For studios, the benefit was crystal clear. For theaters, it was a nail in the coffin of sorts. It was an allegedly temporary measure that became a permanent one. That decision forever altered the general public’s viewing habits in the process, making it far more easy to just stay home even after the threat of the pandemic had eased.
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Theater chains were none too pleased with Universal’s decision. AMC, the biggest chain in the world, banned all Universal movies in April 2020 in response. The ban obviously didn’t stick, but it goes to show just how upset those who rely on box office to keep their business alive were. The film’s actors weren’t exactly happy either, as they later demanded bonuses that they would have received had the sequel crossed certain box office milestones. It’s perhaps telling that 2023’s “Trolls Band Together” did get a theatrical release, with the VOD release coming just a month after its big screen debut.
Trolls World Tour helped reshape the movie industry, for better and worse
Universal Pictures
In the years that followed, studios embraced PVOD heartily, with streaming also becoming a far more dominant force during the pandemic. While very few movies of this size go straight to VOD now, the theatrical window has collapsed, with many titles available just 17 days after they first hit theaters. AMC and other chains are currently all but begging Hollywood to extend the theatrical window to 45 days (which still would have been relatively short before the pandemic). Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but studios have little motivation to give in.
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Unlike box office, studios rarely share VOD numbers. However, the New York Times reported that Universal had made more than $1 billion from PVOD titles in just three years. Universal has continued to argue that VOD is good for business and is “supplemental” to box office. Other studios have followed suit, reserving long, exclusive theatrical runs for the biggest of big movies only.
All of this has trained people to stay home, with the “wait to stream” mentality taking root. Many viewers get downright indignant when they can’t stream a movie now, even if it’s only been in theaters for a short time. All the while, the global box office hasn’t come close to reaching pre-pandemic levels again. Theaters still face a somewhat uncertain future, five years removed from all of this.
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At the same time, VOD has helped provide studios with a secondary revenue source that didn’t exist previously. With DVD not what it once was, this can act as a safety net. Then again, movies like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Avatar: The Way of Water” still crush it on VOD even after long theatrical runs. The argument between studios and theaters on this persists.
We’re certainly not going to settle any industry-wide debates here today. It’s just remarkable in reflection that “Trolls World Tour,” a movie that /Film called “Loud, garish,” and “not quite as Bad as the first one,” was at the forefront of such a sea change. Anything that came as a result is not this movie’s fault, to be certain, but it earned its place in cinema history all the same.
Data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will be transformed into music ringing from the top of UC Berkeley’s Campanile. The probe is the fastest human-made object ever and the first spacecraft to fly through the sun’s atmosphere. On Friday, carillonist Tiffany Ng will give the world premiere of contemporary composer Chris Chafe’s “To the Sun,” which tuned the satellite data into music. UC Berkeley students William Wu and Faye Held developed an accompanying interactive web app that will allow audiences to play along with the carillon while following the solar probe’s journey from Earth through space. Friday, April 11, Noon. Sather Tower, UC Berkeley. FREE 
The author of five poetry books and past recipient of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and a Governor General’s Literary Award, Cecily Nicholson considers the diurnal movement of crows in her most recent work, Crowd Source, a likely focus of her reading as part of the Holloway Poetry Series. Thursday, April 10, 5:30 p.m. Wheeler Hall. FREE
UC Berkeley is holding a symposium to mark 40 years since it launched the nation’s first ethnic studies doctoral program. Alumni and current students in the Ph.D. program will participate in panels to reflect on the legacy of the Third World Liberation Front and the possible futures of ethnic studies in an age of authoritarianism. Speakers include UC Berkeley lecturer and Eastwind Books co-owner Harvey Dong, UC Berkeley ethnic studies professor Juana Maria Rodriguez and Lillian Castillo-Speed, the head librarian of UC Berkeley’s Ethnic Studies Library. Friday, April 11, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Multicultural Community Center, MLK Jr. Student Union. FREE (RSVP)
Fisheries biologist Emily Chen, who studied Chinook Salmon population dynamics in the Central Valley while getting her doctoral degree at UC Berkeley, will give a virtual talk on the life cycle of Pacific Salmon, the species’ history in the San Francisco Bay and Central Valley, and what’s going on in Lake Merritt. Friday, April 11, 7 p.m. Online. FREE (RSVP)@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}
Berkeley-reared electric bassist Amarinder “Ama” Singh, who’s honed a celebratory sound combining traditional Punjabi melodies with jazz and funk, makes his Jupiter debut with his trio. Friday, April 11, 7 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
Berkeley old-time music maven Suzy Thompson celebrates the release of her new album of songs by the late great 1970s singer/songwriter Paul Siebel, Suzy Sings Siebel along with blues, old-time and Cajun music with her husband and partner-in-twang, guitar great Eric Thompson. Guitarist, composer and noted author Mitch Greenhill plays an opening set with Mitch’s Kitchen. Friday, April 11, 8 p.m. The Back Room. $25
Led and curated by Berkeley Journalism’s first Logan Professor of Photojournalism, documentary photographer Ken Light, the biennial Reva and David Logan Photobook Symposium celebrates the photographic book by bringing together photographers, academics, students and collectors, including Richard Misrach, Mark Steinmetz, Philip Montgomery, Katy Grannan, Rebecca Norris Webb, Kristine Potter, Nelson Chan, Bill Owens, Matt Eich and Shana Lopes. Saturday, April 12, 9:30 a.m. International House. $35
Help Friends of Five Creeks and UC Berkeley student volunteers remove pepperweed and lessen the spread of the invasive plants from the Bay shore at the mouth of Strawberry Creek. Wear long pants, long sleeves and close-toed shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Tools, gloves and light snacks will be provided, and all ages are welcome. Groups of more than five should RSVP by emailing f5creeks@gmail.com. Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. Meet at the west edge of the Sea Breeze Deli parking lot, 598 University Ave. 
The Orly Museum of Hungarian Culture, where Budapest meets Berkeley, hosts a free family Easter celebration with egg painting and a chocolate egg hunt in the landscaped garden. Saturday, April 12, 2 p.m. Orly Museum. FREE
In a UC Berkeley lecture, mycologist Paul Stamets will highlight psilocybin mushrooms used from North America, MesoAmerica, Africa, India, Europe and Australasia, which he sees as “portals for us to evolve into a higher state of consciousness.” Saturday, April 12, 5 p.m. Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley. $20 (RSVP)
As part of its “Making History,” concert, the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir will perform “Echoes of Eureka,” a new choral opera by composer and music director Eric Tuan that tells the real story of how Chinese immigrants were driven out of Eureka, California, in 1885. The Girls’ choir of St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge, one of the pioneering university girls’ choirs in the U.K., will also be guest performing at the concert. Saturday, April 12, 7 p.m. First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. $20-$30 (RSVP)@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 100px;}}
Berkeley Bait & Tackle Art Gallery, recently reinvented as a cultural showcase specializing in Kenyan apparel and jewelry, is holding a pop-up concert and dinner served up by Burley’s Catering (overseen by Berkeley native Chef Paul). Sunday, April 13, 6:30 p.m. Berkeley Bait & Tackle. FREE
Cal’s Javanese Gamelan ensemble presents a rare U.S. performance of “Hanuman” featuring rising young star Ki Hanggoro Murti, who brings the Ramayana epic to life with shadow puppet dance scenes, comic interludes, wild battles and musical accompaniment by master musicians Midiyanto (director), Heni Savitri (vocalist), and UC Berkeley’s Gamelan Sari Raras ensemble. Sunday, April 13, 7:30 p.m. Hertz Concert Hall. $12-$16@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-3{min-height: 100px;}}
The La Peña Cultural Center is launching a monthly film series honoring the stories of diverse immigrant communities in the Bay Area and beyond. The effort, spearheaded by the Friends of La Peña Immigrant Rights Committee, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, with a screening of “No Separate Survival,” a film produced by the Berkeley-based nonprofit East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. The film’s director, Shabnam Piryaei, and East Bay Sanctuary Covenant Director Lisa Hoffman, will hold a post-screening discussion. Third Tuesdays through August 2025. La Peña Cultural Center. $10-$25 (sliding scale)
A sure sign of spring’s arrival is the return of the Jazzschool’s popular Wednesday night Jazz Jams at Jupiter, where trumpeter Erik Jekabson (or a trusty sub) keeps the bandstand lively as numerous players join the Jazzschool faculty house band to play, listen, and connect. Wednesday, April 16, 7 p.m. Jupiter. FREE
Take a glimpse at the future of fashion design at the Berkeley High Sustainable Fashion Show. The event, hosted by the BHS Fashion Club, will include a fully student-produced runway show and live music by the BHS Jazz Band. You’ll also be able to shop from student-run small businesses anytime before 7 p.m., when doors close and the runway show starts. Friday, April 18, 5:30 p.m. Ciel Creative Space, 935 Carleton St. $8-$23 (RSVP)
Plan ahead: Not Loud Concerts is putting on a Fantasy Waltz Night at Berkeley’s Chapel of the Flowers, a funeral home turned music venue. Dance instructor Colin Williamshe will kick off the evening with a beginner-friendly waltz lesson; then, the Renegade Orchestra members will perform (not-too-loud) waltzes for you to dance along to. Coffee and cookies will be available. Ages 18 and up. Friday, April 25, 7 p.m. 3049 Adeline St. $25 (RSVP) 
Berkeley Rep’s production of “Here There Are Blueberries,” directed by Moisés Kaufman, runs April 5 through May 11. The play, which grapples with how ordinary people become murderers, is based on a real story about an album of Nazi-era photographs that mysteriously arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist in 2007. $25–$134Beyond BerkeleyA photograph featured in the ‘Purple’ exhibit. Credit: Susan West
Gray Loft Gallery will unveil its newest annual color-themed photo exhibit series this weekend. The focus is on the color purple. According to the gallery founder and curator, Jen Watten, the exhibit “explores the captivating depth, emotion, and symbolism of the color purple, an iconic hue historically associated with royalty, mystery, spirituality, and creativity.” The work of over 60 photographers will be on display. The exhibit is open through Sunday, May 11. Opening reception, Saturday, April 12, 5 p.m. 2889 Ford St. Oakland. FREE 
Lower Bottom Playaz, Oakland’s oldest Black Theater, just launched its 26th season last weekend with the premiere of the show “Government Housing.” The semi-autobiographical play written by Dr. Ayodele “Wordslanger” Nzinga explores white supremacy and how it manifests inside an apartment in a housing project in Berkeley. The show runs through Monday, May 5. Fridays 8 p.m., Saturdays 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays 2 p.m. BAM House, 1540 Broadway, Oakland. $33-$160
Oakland Olympic swimmer and Hollywood actor Buster Crabbe rose to fame in the 1920s for his athleticism and later as a Hollywood superstar who appeared in over 100 films and played iconic roles like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Tarzan, which earned him the nickname “king of the serials.” Through April 25, the Oakland History Center has an exhibit on display of Crabbe’s memorabilia by curator Miron Murcury and Oakland History Center librarian Emily Foster. Through April 25. Oakland History Center, Main Library, second floor, 125 14th St., Oakland. FREEIf there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org. If there’s an event that you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page.The Oaklandside’s Arts and Community reporter Azucena Rasilla contributed to this list.@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-5{min-height: 100px;}}