In a surprise and sudden move, the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” is now available to rent at home via on video-on-demand services, just two weeks after it opened in theaters.
The movie arrived Friday on Amazon Prime Video, where it is available to stream for $19.99. It is also available on Vudu, Google Play, YouTube and other rental services.
Filmmakers were adamant about “Respect” being a big screen experience, releasing it exclusively in theaters rather than concurrently offering it for home streaming, a strategy employed by several studios as the pandemic continues to affect Hollywood’s bottom line.
But after opening at No. 4 on at the box office two weeks ago, pulling in $8.8 million its debut frame, it slid to No. 5 last weekend with a $3.7 million haul. It has made $17.4 million to date against a reported budget of $55 million.
The film has performed well with audiences, earning an A grade from CinemaScore, which measures audience reaction. The film has a 69% “fresh” score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 95% audience score.
But there were concerns that older audiences weren’t venturing out to see the movie, which stars Jennifer Hudson as the Queen of Soul, a problem that his hit adult-skewing films since Hollywood began once again rolling out its heavy hitters.
In addition to being available at home, “Respect” is still in theaters.
agraham@detroitnews.com
@grahamorama