Director Shawn Levy explains why Free Guy managed to avoid getting a Disney+ streaming release. After being delayed from summer 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, Free Guy will finally arrive in theaters this weekend. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular Guy, a video game NCP who one day discovers the truth about his surroundings. When the game he lives in is on the verge of being shut down, Guy must team up with a coder (Jodie Comer's Millie) and save Free City from total destruction. Free Guy also stars Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi.
Though 2021 has brought signs of recovery from the pandemic at the box office and in the world at large, there are renewed concerns about venturing out amid the Delta variant. As a result, it is still common practice for studios to either delay their movies or give them some kind of streaming release. For example, all of Warner Bros.' 2021 movies are available day and date on HBO Max, and Disney has given movies like Jungle Cruise and Black Widow a premier streaming release. Free Guy, however, will be a theatrical exclusive for at least 45 days.
Speaking to Collider while promoting the film, Levy explained the main reason why Free Guy avoided going the same route as Disney's other 2021 releases. It largely comes down to the impressive responses the studio got from in-person screenings of the movie, which could lead to further projects down the line if the same thing happens upon release. Levy said:
I think, well two things, one is Disney shortly after they bought Fox, they came to a test screening of Free Guy. And I say this as someone who, whether it was Real Steel or Ryan had this experience on Deadpool 2 where, we've had movies that have tested euphorically, Free Guy tested like nothing to a number that neither Ryan nor I had seen and the Disney brass was there. So they always said through the whole pandemic, when we would say, are you sure you don't want to just show people, because it's done. They really always felt that if Free Guy can get its moment in movie theaters and the audience can feel that experience, that it could catch a tailwind and maybe even justify the existence of other stories within a new franchise, it's a big swing. I've seen the movie play in theaters and certainly every director would rather have it seen big and loud. So selfishly, narcissistically, the director of me loves that. But COVID permissive, permitting the hope is that that collective experience can bring the movie to life in the culture the way we feel it can. And that was always the position that Disney had.
It's difficult to say just how regular audiences will respond this weekend, but the early reactions to Free Guy have been very positive. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is an impressive 86%, with many critics describing the movie as perfect summer fun. Free Guy is the kind of movie that was made to be seen with a crowd, and hopefully a safe amount of people will check it out. Both Levy and Disney were interested in recreating that early test screening feeling; this weekend will show if they were successful.
Levy also hinted that a win for Free Guy could also result in more stories set within the world. That would be somewhat ironic, as part of Free Guy's marketing campaign has zeroed in on the fact that it's an original movie. Still, it would be quite a feat if an original video game tale spawned its own franchise. The world of Free City could hold numerous story possibilities, and if enough people enjoy Free Guy, audiences could find themselves returning to it again in the future. We'll see how it goes this weekend.
Source: Collider
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