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Pete Davidson‘s semi-autobiographical film is getting an early release. According to Variety, The King of Staten Island will premiere exclusively on demand June 12, a week before it was scheduled to debut in theaters. Davidson’s comedy is the second Universal film to forgo its theatrical release due to the coronavirus pandemic, an unconventional move that proved immensely successful for Trolls World Tour earlier this month.
Directed by comedy great Judd Apatow, The King of Staten Island is loosely based on Davidson’s upbringing in New York City and journey to Saturday Night Live. The film, co-written by Apatow and Dave Sirus, follows Davidson as he loses his father in 9/11 and enters the world of stand-up comedy, where he is instantly identified as an up-and-coming star. A star-studded cast forms Davidson’s fictional circle, a group that includes Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley (The Morning Show), and Judd Apatow’s daughter Maude Apatow (Euphoria).
The King of Staten Island has experienced a rocky road to the big screen. Variety reports that the comedy was slated to premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas in March, but the event was canceled due to concerns about COVID-19. Despite the SXSW cancellation, Universal hoped to release the film in mid-June, a plan that was finally scrapped today. Rather than postpone The King of Staten Island‘s theatrical release, as Universal did with Fast 9, the studio opted to send it straight to VOD for a June 12 release.
According to Variety, Universal has also postponed Bob Odenkirk thriller Nobody, its Candyman remake, Sing 2, and Minions: Rise of Gru.
Universal’s decision to shift The King of Staten Island to VOD was likely influenced by the success of Trolls World Tour, which was released Friday, April 10. While it declined to provide specific statistics, Universal reported that the Trolls sequel had the most successful digital release in VOD history. At the time, FandangoNow head Cameron Douglas confirmed that Trolls World Tour brought in “the best preorders, first day and opening weekend sales” the service has ever seen.
Who knows if Pete Davidson’s The King of Staten Island will best Trolls World Tour, but one thing is certain: if it flops, at least Saturday Night Live will have some new material.
