Veronica Mars movie gets international day and date digital release on 14th March
David Farnor | On 03, Mar 2014
The Veronica Mars movie will be available to watch online in the UK on Friday 14th March, the same day as it hits cinemas – and the same day as its theatrical and VOD release in the US.
The feature-length follow-up to the TV series generated a lot of attention when the show’s creator, Rob Thomas, took to Kickstarter to partly fund the project. The film, which will see Kristen Bell return to her role as the young sleuth, announced that it would be embracing online technology further still last month with a simultaneous VOD and theatrical release in the US.
Now, Warner Bros. has confirmed that the Veronica Mars movie will have a day and date digital release in the UK on Friday 14th March too, making its release an international multi-platform affair.
While simultaneous on demand distribution is increasingly common for smaller pictures, this is the first time a major Hollywood studio has embraced the potential of VOD on home soil, let alone on an international scale.
Digital distribution, though, is a long way from becoming an industry standard. Veronica Mars’ theatrical release in the US and UK is only limited, more akin to an indie movie than a fully-fledged tent-pole blockbuster. The release follows a reported dispute between UK distributor Peccadillo Pictures and cinema chain Cineworld, who temporarily removed art-house title Stranger by the Lake from their screens, in response to an early VOD release (this Friday) during the film’s theatrical window.
Peccadillo’s head of publicity, Droo Padhiar told Screen Daily last month: “Multiplex chain Cineworld booked Stranger by the Lake for one-off shows for the first weekend of release, knowing full well we had a two week VOD window on 7th March.
“We were then informed today – after publicity had been put in place, listings had been made public, and drives of the film had been sent – that the film will be pulled from all the Cineworld sites, due to a single complaint from an anonymous UK film distributor – who felt it was apparently unfair that we were allowed this.”
The dispute was later resolved and Stranger by the Lake was released in Cineworld cinemas as planned.
Given Veronica Mars’ origins, is a smaller screen debut a natural fit for its audience? With the movie available to download legally in both American and Britain, will the release have an impact upon piracy levels? And, with the industry’s acceptance of day and date distribution apparently far from widespread, how much will Warner Bros’ TV spin-off change the market?
For now, here are the first two minutes of the film – and where to watch the full thing online:
Veronica Mars will be available to buy and rent on Friday 14th March from iTunes, Google Play, Sky Store, Virgin Media, BT TV, blinkbox, Xbox Video, Playstation Store, Dixons KnowHow Movies, Wuaki.tv and UPC in Ireland.
Read on for the poster – or head this way to read our Veronica Mars movie review.
