As ‘Hotel Transylvania 4’ Skips Theaters for Streaming, Will More Family Films Follow?

While much of the fall movie slate is looking like it will stay in place despite the COVID-19 Delta surge, reports of Sony Pictures selling “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” to Amazon in a $100 million deal reflect how the pandemic continues to hit family films. Reps for Sony declined to comment on the potential sale of “Hotel Transylvania 4,” but reports of both an Amazon deal and the tense reopening of schools has coincided with declining consumer confidence in movie theaters. The latest poll from NRG showed moviegoer comfort in going to theaters dropped from 81% last month to 66%. When broken down by demographics, women over 35 have seen the biggest drop in confidence: Just 52% said they feel comfortable with going out to see a movie. “In other words, a lot of moms are reluctant to take their kids to the movies right now, so it’s a challenging time to release family films,” one rival distributor told TheWrap. “I think the situation will stabilize over the next couple of months but for now, it’s a handicapped marketplace.” Parked school buses in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A move for “Hotel Transylvania 4” would continue a trend that...

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