Washington D.C: Sony Pictures has given its hit action-comedy Bad Boys for Life an early digital release on March 31. This move by the entertainment company came amid the nation's movie theatres going dark due to the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Variety, the movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence will debut April 21 on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD.
Most theatrical releases were not available at home until roughly 90 days after they premiered in multiplexes, prior to the health crisis. But given the unprecedented circumstances, Disney, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal, STX Films and Warner Bros. have all announced plans to release films early on VOD, including Onward, Birds of Prey, The Hunt and The Invisible Man.
Earning 204 million USD in North America, Bad Boys for Life is the highest-grossing movie of the year so far.
Sequel to 1995's Bad Boys and 2003's Bad Boys 2, the movie carries a production budget of 90 million USD. It reunites Smith and Lawrence as old-school cops taking down the leader of a Miami drug cartel.
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Bad Boys for Life hit the theatres in North America on January 17. The March 31 date is 74 days later -- which was the industry's earliest gap for electronic sell-through prior to the current crisis.
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures has started working on the fourth part of Bad Boys with stars Smith and Lawrence expected to return for the next part of the film franchise. The buddy cop movie series began in 1995.
Chris Bremner, who worked on Bad Boys for Life, is reportedly on board to pen the script.
Bad Boys for Life revolves around a modern, highly specialised police unit that collides with the old school Bad Boys (Smith and Lawrence) when a new threat emerges in Miami.
With inputs from IANS
