At the height of the pandemic, Hollywood studios learned to stop worrying and learn to love dropping their big new movies on streamers. Some, like Paramount, waited things out, and were grandly rewarded for their patience. Others charged a hefty-ish rental. Some simply dropped them on their streamers for “free” (i.e., as part of a subscription).
By now, most studios have gone back to business-as-usual. Not Universal. They’re still dropping some of their new titles on Peacock the same day they hit theaters. Doing that didn’t stop Five Nights at Freddy’s from Hoovering up scores of scratch. They didn’t do that with their threequel Trolls Band Together, which is currently playing theaters exclusively.
So when will Trolls 3 hit Peacock? As of this writing there’s no official answer. But Universal tends to put them online either 30 or 90 days after release. Since Trolls 3 arrived on November 17, it will either be available mid-December or mid-February.
Long before this year’s smash hit Barbie, the 2016 Trolls original proved that Hollywood could make a mint by turning dolls into cinema. The original Barbie doll, though, beat the original Trolls to toy store shelves by three years. Created by Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam, they were first sold in 1959, and over the decades their popularity has been hills and valleys.
They’re obviously enjoying a hills moment these days, what with a wildly successful cartoon franchise. The latest film finds troll Poppy (voice of Anna Kendrick) learning that her troll boyfriend Branch (Justin Timberlake) used to be a member of a boy band called BroZone. (Oh, and by the way the movie features a new song by a reunited NSYNC.) Other big names include Camila Cabello, Eric André, Troye Sivan, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, Ru Paul, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, and Zosia Mamet.
For now, though, Trolls Band Together can exclusively be watched in theaters.
