Cats, the mind-melding social experiment crafted by Tom Hooper’s innermost weirdo, is finally available to own on digital video. At this time of great unease and fear over the novel coronavirus, it may be a slight comfort to some to know, at last, that they can attend the Jellicle Ball from the self-isolated comfort of their own homes. Didn’t see this masterpiece back when it was theaters? Well, now is the perfect time to indulge in one of the most bizarre movies of 2019. Were we ever so young?
As more and more people stay home in an attempt to flatten the curve of coronavirus, moviemakers whose films are losing out on theatrical profits are pivoting to digital. Films like the Suicide Squad spinoff Birds of Prey and Guy Ritchie’s action tale The Gentlemen have been released early on VOD, while Universal went ahead and released all of its current offerings digitally, including The Hunt and The Invisible Man. It’s all an attempt to capitalize on homebound audiences and recoup losses now that several movie theaters, including chains like AMC, have rightly decided to close in the wake of the pandemic. Streaming, it seems, is the only corner of the industry that seems to be thriving at this unpredictable time.
Cats, which hit theaters last December and subsequently bombed at the box office, was always scheduled to become available on digital on March 17. But while the film has all the makings of a future cult favorite, there is—all things considered—probably no better time for it to hit the digital market. Right now, everyone is self-isolating, and the news is terrible. What better way is there to comfort oneself than to watch a very silly movie musical beamed in from the Heaviside Layer?
Perhaps eagle-eyed, house-bound viewers can now devote some time to answering our age-old questions about the movie, including, but not limited to: What was up with those tiny, brainwashed cockroaches? Why does Old Deutoronomy (Judi Dench) wear a fur coat? And what size are the cats of Cats supposed to be?
At the very least, if more people watch the movie, then more people will join this guy in his noble balcony sing-along of “Magical Mister Mistoffelees.” Take it away, Ryan.
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