“Cinderella” Starring Camila Cabello Will Skip Theaters And Premiere On Amazon Prime
There are many wonderful things about living in a technologically advanced world, but one of the greatest blessings is that streaming has almost completely made obsolete the term: “Straight to DVD.” Actors no longer have to suffer the indignity of working on a project, only to find it unceremoniously released directly on DVD and dumped in a discount bin at Walmart, with a tacky yellow $3.99 sticker slapped over their face on the cover. Now when a studio wants to release a movie without taking a risk at the box office, they can put it on a streaming service, which paints a much prettier picture than the one conjured up by that discount movie bin lit with a halo of fluorescent overhead lighting. And that’s where Camila Cabello’s Cinderella remake will be going, is off to the land of streaming. Specifically, Amazon Prime.
When Camila’s Cinderella was announced back in April 2019, we heard it was pitched by James Corden, and that it would be a fresh, new take on the classic shoe-losing tale. We also heard production was being fast-tracked, possibly to capitalize on Camila’s very hot music career at the time. Remember “Señorita“? Of course, you do. Well, thanks to the pandemic, it’s skipping theaters and going straight to Amazon Prime. via Deadline:
In her feature debut, singer Camila Cabello will be seen fitted for the glass slipper on Amazon Prime. Amazon Studios is closing a deal to acquire worldwide rights to the Kay Cannon-directed musical Cinderella from Sony Pictures.
No premiere date yet, but the film will premiere later this year. Sony Pictures had once dated it for July, but the pandemic and theatrical windows are still uncertain, especially in Europe and Latin America. Sony retains China rights.
Variety notes that Sony Pictures has been shuffling a whole bunch of films to streaming, except for superhero-led films, which statistically earn their money back (because they’re very popular, naturally). For example, Vivo, an animated film starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, was supposed to hit theaters this summer, but will now debut on Netflix sometime later this year.
Cinderella is directed by Kay Cannon and also stars Idina Menzel as Camila’s wicked stepmother, Minnie Driver as a Queen, John Mulaney, James Corden, and Romesh Ranganathan as mice, Piers Brosnan in an unknown role, and Billy Porter as her Fab G (aka fairy godmother).
Sony has the right idea here though, from a financial standpoint. You just can’t expect people to mask up and drop $25 at the local multiplex to watch Camila Cabello pretend to be in love with a handsome prince while flashing her feet when she’s giving it away for free on social media! And who cares about Cinderella running away from the ball at the stroke of midnight, when you already have deeply compelling footage of Camila and Shawn Mendes strolling at a snail’s pace on a suburban street in the middle of the afternoon?
Pic: Sony Pictures