With most movie theaters shut down by the unprecedented events of 2020, studios took different strategies to handle their paralyzed releases. Some titles were released on VOD, others were sold to streaming services, and many high-profile films were pushed back until they could enjoy a robust rollout. But audience hesitation to return to theaters also gave studios an opportunity to bury unwanted films they’d inherited. Although it had been greenlit before Disney purchased Fox, David Prior’s supernatural horror mystery The Empty Man was dumped into theaters without fanfare in the fall.
The fact that The Empty Man was the last title ever distributed by 20th Century Fox didn’t drum up any hype, as the film earned middling reviews and bombed at the box office. Although poor test screenings had prompted serious inquiries into the post-production process, the lack of marketing suggested that Disney had left Prior’s film out to dry.
