The family film about imaginary friends, which includes an all-star cast, can now be seen on the studio’s streaming platform.
John Krasinski’s IF was released into cinemas on May 17 and last month, the family film was already announced to be available on digital streaming outlets for rent or purchase. The studio had also planned for a physical media release with a 4K Blu-ray set to hit stores on August 13. However, in between, the Ryan Reynolds imaginary friend comedy has just been made available to stream for subscribers of the service Paramount+.
This film is one of the many this year that has seen fast turnarounds from movie theater screenings to home video availability. It was recently announced that the epic Kevin Costner Western, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter One, will be made available to rent or purchase on streaming on July 16, which is mere weeks after the movie premiered in theaters. Other movies like the Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action film, The Fall Guy, as well as films like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and, most recently, The Bikeriders, have had small theatrical windows before heading to streaming. The unfortunate distinction of all these movies is that they underperformed at the box office. Inversely, the latest sequel to Krasinski’s popular horror franchise, A Quiet Place: Day One, is faring well at the box office, so it remains to be seen how the release strategy will differ.
Meanwhile, other notable movies this year, like Road House and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, are titles that are seemingly ripe for big-screen releases. Both studios behind the films, Amazon and Netflix, have both released their original titles in theaters prior to streaming on their services, so there has been a clear precedence for both of these cases and yet, they were not given the opportunities to be experienced in a movie theater.
The synopsis for IF reads, “Starring Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, and John Krasinski, IF is a heartwarming and hilarious tale about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends, known as IFs. She embarks on a magical journey to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids, before they disappear. An adventure you’ll need to believe to see, IF is perfect for the whole family. Written and directed by John Krasinski, the film also features a stellar voice cast, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Steve Carell.”