Aug 13, 2021

Report: "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania" may change the date or go to streaming

The subtitle of the fourth Hotel Transylvania film is “Transformania,” but perhaps it should be “The Search for a Release Date.”

The fourth and final installment of the franchise, Transformania is currently scheduled to be released on October 1st, but Deadline is reporting that Sony may move its release date, or even possibly shift it to streaming on Netflix.

Sony has already diverted to Netflix three of its theatrical features this year – The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Wish Dragon, and Vivo – due to the pandemic and the generally sluggish global box office. It had been saving Transformania for theaters, but those plans are now in question as the Delta variant expands globally and parental concerns over taking unvaccinated children to movie theaters.

In any case, the October 1 theatrical date wasn't ideal for HT since the MGM/United Artists animated feature The Addams Family 2 is also currently scheduled for the same date.

If Sony changes the timing of the release, it would be the fifth different date for the film, which is nothing compared to another recent Sony film, Peter Rabbit 2, which shifted around to 10 different release dates before launching in July.