Pete Davidson's 'King of Staten Island' to open on-demand

NEW YORK — Judd Apatow's “The King of Staten Island,” starring Pete Davidson, will release straight to home on-demand video after having its theatrical release cancelled.

Universal Pictures said Monday that “The King of Staten Island” will debut as a $20 rental on digital platforms June 12. It is Apatow's first fiction film as a director since 2015's “Trainwreck" and Davidson’s biggest movie project yet, had earlier been slated for theatrical release on June 19. It was also supposed to be the opening movie at the South by Southwest in March before the film festival was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“The King of Staten Island” is the second Universal Pictures release to turn to a home video release following “Trolls World Tour” in early April. The studio declined to release sales figures but trumpeted its opening-weekend performance as a record VOD debut.

Though the wide majority of major releases have been postponed until theatres reopen, other studios have begun to experiment by instead sending some movies to home entertainment. Warner Bros. last week said the Scooby-Doo film “Scoob!” will next month forgo theatrical release and debut digitally. The Walt Disney Co. is sending “Artemis Fowl” to its streaming service, Disney Plus in May.

Davidson co-wrote the semi-autobiographical “The King of Staten Island,” a comedy about a young man living at home with his mother (Marisa Tomei) on New York’s Staten Island. During the pandemic, Davidson has been quarantined at his family's house on Staten Island and sending in “Saturday Night Live” videos from there.

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press