Bleecker Street is releasing its Peter Cattaneo movie Military Wives starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan into homes on May 22.

The pic was originally expected to get a limited theatrical release over Memorial Day weekend, but that’s not possible with the current COVID-19 shutdown of theaters. Military Wives will be available to rent or buy through AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video and other major VOD platforms. The movie will also be released on Hulu, where subscribers will be able to watch it instantly.

Lionsgate UK announced a similar PVOD distribution for the movie, where it was made available in homes across the pond on March 27.

Simultaneously, Bleecker Street will partner with choir groups, performing arts centers, community centers, military organizations, and theatrical exhibitors through an expanded “Community Cinema” program, whereupon half of all revenue will go to these organizations, much like Bleecker Street recently did with theater chains on Sally Potter’s The Roads Not Taken. Military Wives will also play drive-ins theaters across the country.

“We want the joy and emotion of this film to be seen by as many people as possible, and Memorial Day weekend felt like the right moment to share this moving and inspiring movie,” said Andrew Karpen, CEO of Bleecker Street. “In addition, while we all are experiencing hardship during this crisis, we wanted to collaborate with other organizations and share proceeds of this unique release with those businesses and partners that are being affected.”

Military Wives centers on a group of women from different backgrounds whose partners are away serving in Afghanistan. Faced with their loved ones’ absences, they come together to form the first military wives choir, helping each other through some of life’s most difficult moments, and quickly find themselves on an international stage. The pic made its world premiere at TIFF last year.

By: Anthony D'Alessandro
DEADLINE