If Universal is to be believed, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for an entertainment industry that has been battered by coronavirus-induced theater closures. According to the studio, their decision to premiere “Trolls World Tour” has resulted in the biggest opening day and weekend for a digital title.

The Hollywood Reporter says the studio claims the movie broke the all-time record for the biggest Easter weekend digital debut without providing any figures. It does seem to be true on the surface. The film was made available to rent on premium video-on-demand services like FnadangoNOW, DirecTV, YouTube, Vudu, Apple, Comcast, and Amazon for two days for $19.99. The film ended up being the top title in all of those platforms.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the decision to premiere “Trolls World Tour” on video-on-demand services was probably an experiment to see just how much the public would be willing to pay to see a high-profile movie in their homes.

However, Forbes is much more skeptical about this leading to widespread change in the entertainment industry. The publication points out that online distribution “made sense” for “Trolls World Tour” because animated film sequels that do not have massively popular characters generally do not exceed or even meet the earnings of their predecessors. Forbes cited “Secret Life of Pets 2.” “LEGO Movie 2,” and the “Angry Birds Movie 2” as examples.

Forbes says the same can’t be said about big tentpole movies like Marvel’s “Black Widow” or the new Bond film “No Time to Die.” Not only do movies like these have bigger budgets, but their success in mediums like Blu-ray or even video-on-demand is also often dependent on being a success in the moviehouses.

Whatever the case may be, the entertainment industry as a whole needs to find a strategy to recoup losses incurred from coronavirus-induced closures. The North American box office recently suffered a $600 million deficit because of the lockdowns imposed. The global film industry is itself expected to lose $5 billion because of theater closures brought about by the coronavirus.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to rise up as the days go by. According to the Apr. 13 situation report released by the World Health Organization, the global total of confirmed cases is now at 1,773,084 people. People that have died from the coronavirus are now at 111,652 people.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States as of Apr. 13 is at 554,849 people, while the number of fatalities is at 21,942, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.