The latest sign that nothing is back to normal on the theatrical front, Variety is reporting tonight that Sony is looking to sell off Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, rather than release the film in theaters on October 1, 2021 as they had recently been planning.
According to the site, “Sony Pictures Animation and Amazon are nearing a $100 million deal for the animated feature.” If this deal goes through, that would bring Hotel Transylvania: Transformania directly to Amazon’s streaming service, skipping a theatrical release entirely.
This year’s theatrical slate has recently been called into question, with studios (once again) scrambling to figure out what to do with their movies now that the delta variant is sweeping across the country. With only half the country fully vaccinated, the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going anywhere any time soon, casting doubt on the next several months at the box office.
Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
In the franchise’s final installment, “Drac and the pack are back, like you’ve never seen them before in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania. Reunite with your favorite monsters for an all-new adventure that presents Drac with his most terrifying task yet. When Van Helsing’s mysterious invention, the “Monsterfication Ray,” goes haywire, Drac and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny becomes a monster! In their new mismatched bodies, Drac, stripped of his powers, and an exuberant Johnny, loving life as a monster, must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it’s too late, and before they drive each other crazy. With help from Mavis and the hilariously human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent.”
Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon directed Transformania.
The voice ensemble features Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Jim Gaffigan, Fran Drescher, and Brian Hull.