Since You Can't Go to the Movies, Amazon Prime Brought the Movies to You
Updated March 22 2021, 11:44 a.m. ET
We don't know about you but not being able to go to the movies has been a big loss for us. Those of us who are AMC A-List subscribers are missing our weekly movie dates and we're all more than a little bit upset about the amount of movies that have been pushed back in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But just because we can't go to the movies doesn't mean that the movies can't come to us.
Amazon Prime recently launched Prime Video Cinema, which allows customers to rent or buy movies that would currently be in theaters. You know, if theaters were actually open.
Here's how Prime Video Cinema works.
A lot of movies came out towards the end of February and early March. Several of these movies struggled at the box office and an argument could be made that they struggled because people were already avoiding theaters due to fears of COVID-19. All in all, if companies wanted to get any return on their investment, they had to find another way for people to watch their movies from the comfort of their own home while they're social distancing.
One such way has been provided by Amazon Prime. The streaming platform launched Prime Video Cinema to allow anyone who is stuck inside right now (as we all should be) to check out the movies they missed out on in theaters. As of now, there are seven films available. Onward, Birds of Prey, Bloodshot, and The Way Back are available as an "In-Theater Purchase". The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma are available as an "In-Theater Rental".
Regardless of if you're getting it in SD or HD, or if it's available to rent or buy, the cost is all the same: $19.99. If the film is only available for rent at this time, keep in mind that, while you can start the film anytime within 30 days, it must be finished within 48 hours of when you first started it. Meaning that, if you start Emma right now and try to finish it next week, you'll have to shell out another $19.99.
Are these movies available anywhere else?
Amazon is definitely not your only option to see these films. You can find them in a number of different places online including Fandango Now, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play. The catch is, though, that you're going to continue seeing the price tag of $19.99 pretty much wherever you look, which is a bit more expensive than the average movie theater ticket, but not by much. And not if you're talking about IMAX or Dolby Cinema options.
If you're a Disney Plus user, you may want to hold off on checking out Onward a little while longer. Although it's available for purchase on a number of websites, it'll soon be free to stream when it drops on Disney Plus on April 3.
