Had things gone according to plan, Scoob! would have hit theaters last month, but if there’s one thing that 2020 will be remembered for in years to come, it’s things most definitely not going according to plan, especially where the film industry is concerned. Rather than push Scoob! back to later this year or even into 2021, Warner Bros decide to make the movie available for VOD rental and purchase starting May 15, and now it’s already gearing up for a streaming launch.
It was announced today that Scoob! will premiere on HBO Max June 26, so for those of you who are subscribed to the platform and hadn’t already either rented or purchased Warner Bros’ latest animated flick, keep your eye peeled out for it towards the end of the month. Here’s what Kevin Reilly, HBO Max’s chief content officer, had to say about Scoob! heading to his corner of the streaming landscape in an official statement:
HBO Max is the perfect home for these ‘meddling kids' and their dog.’ Scoob! tells the backstory of how these beloved friends met and formed Mystery Inc. It's a perfect addition to our kids and family offering and will sit alongside beloved original Scooby-Doo episodes.
Arriving nearly two decades after the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie that starred Matthew Lillard, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Linda Cardellini (and was followed a couple years later by Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed), Scoob! marked the first feature-length animated Scooby-Doo story, showing how Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, Velma and the eponymous dog came together, and their efforts to solve their most difficult crime yet.
Scoob! also stood out for its use if characters from other Hanna-Barbera properties, such as Blue Falcon, Dick Dastardly and Captain Caveman. The voice cast includes Frank Welker, Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Mark Wahlberg, Kiersey Clemons, Jason Isaacs, Ken Jeong and Tracy Morgan. Space Jam’s Tony Cervone directed the movie.
If you’re a Scooby-Doo fan, clearly HBO Max is a service you should consider getting, as not only will Scoob! be there in a little over two weeks, but you can also enjoy some of the classic cartoons and the previous feature-length movies. And with HBO Max having only just launched, don’t be surprised if even more Scooby-Doo content is thrown up there in the months or years to come.
As far as Scoob!’s commercially performance on VOD goes, no actual numbers have been disclosed to the public, although Deadline reports that it made approximately 35-40% less than Universal’s Trolls World Tour, which has pulled in around $100 million from digital sales. Critically-speaking, Scoob! has been met with mixed reviews, ranking at 50% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of Scoob!, and if you’re curious about what movies are heading to the big screen later this year, you’ll find that information in our 2020 release schedule.
