DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls 3 is set for a Nov. 17, 2023 theatrical release.
Universal Pictures has chosen to premiere the animated event film at the multiplex after the second movie in the franchise, Trolls World Tour, broke the theatrical window for its release amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The first sequel to the Trolls franchise — voice-starring Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick — earned over $100 million on streaming platforms in its first weeks of release on premium VOD (PVOD) as Universal chose not to wait for cinemas to reopen.
Theater owners criticized Universal for opting for a PVOD release for Trolls World Tour and urged that the decision be a one-off and not a new normal for Hollywood. Exhibitors argued a film’s home entertainment potential was based on an initial run in theaters, a model that Universal appears to be returning to with Trolls 3, where home entertainment will not be a stand-in for an exclusive theatrical release.
The original movie in the Trolls franchise was released in 2016 and earned almost $350 million at the global box office.
Also this Friday, Nov. 26, NBC will debut Trolls Holiday in Harmony, a holiday special featuring the voices of Kendrick, Timberlake and much of the cast of Trolls World Tour.
