'Birds of Prey' and 'The Gentlemen' to get early VOD releases

The Birds of Prey are flying into home television screens a bit early as a gift for those impacted by the coronavirus.

Margot Robbie's DC Comics spin-off, which returns the Oscar nominee as Harley Quinn, will be dropping on VOD home release much earlier than was planned on March 24. Another title making the move to home theaters is The Gentlemen, starring Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, and Hugh Grant.

In a tweet sharing the news, Fandango notes that movie lovers can already pre-order both titles on FandangoNOW.

The move comes after Universal made a potentially industry-changing decision to release films currently in theaters through on-demand services as early as this Friday for a suggested retail of $19.99. That includes The Invisible Man, The Hunt, and Emma, with the animated Trolls World Tour being the studio's first day-and-date release (i.e. will be available for a 48-hour period on-demand beginning Friday).

When Cathy Yan, the director of Birds of Prey, heard this news, she tweeted, "I would not be opposed to putting Birds of Prey on VOD earlier." Now, it's a reality.

With so many people staying at home in self-isolation and others practicing "social distancing" measures to help curb the spread of coronavirus, studios are rapidly working to re-strategize plans for films, many of which have been delayed for theaters indefinitely.

One of the first to kick off this new outlook on home releases was Disney, which dropped Frozen 2 on its streaming platform Disney+ months earlier.

It wouldn't feel surprising in the least to see more studios take similar tactics, given fears of the industry losing billions amid theater closures.

Related content:

• Trolls World Tour, The Hunt, Emma, more movies now hitting VOD early

• Frozen 2 will start streaming this weekend on Disney+, three months earlier than planned

• Coronavirus cancellations: All the pop culture being shut down or delayed