Antebellum, a new horror film from Lionsgate starring Janelle Monae, will head straight to premium VOD in September amid the coronavirus pandemic. It becomes the freshest member of a growing list of films to reshape distribution methods by opting for alternatives to the traditional theatrical release. Perhaps the best-documented saga belongs to Christopher Nolan's Tenet - which has been rescheduled three times since its initial push - though films of all sizes have elected to either delay their releases or skip some theaters entirely.

Per THR, Lionsgate announced Thursday that Antebellum will arrive on PVOD on September 18. Written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, the film had most recently been removed from the release schedule altogether. But now, with COVID-19 numbers not improving, the filmmakers and distributors have gone with what is likely the last resort. There is, however, somewhat of a silver lining as the film will open theatrically in select (read: safe) cinemas overseas.


Filmmakers Bush and Renz released this statement:


Monáe's character in the film, Veronica Henley, is a successful author who finds herself trapped in what appears to the pre-American Civil War period of the southern United States, a time commonly referred to as the Antebellum South. Given that setting - whether it's actually the past or some alternate reality - it's easy to see why Antebellum wants to release during the country's current climate of social unrest and protest that's come about in response to continued racial injustice. Horror has frequently been a genre in where themes of race and society are explored, and that makes 2020 a prime moment for a film like Antebellum to release - and it's doing so by any means necessary.

Antebellum also stars Marque Richardson, Eric Lange, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Tongayi Chirisa, Gabourey Sidibe, Rob Aramayo, Lily Cowles, and Jena Malone. It's produced by Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick, Zev Foreman, Lezlie Willis, and Bush and Renz.