These days, movie trailers tend to end with the phrase "only in theaters" right before the release date. Grammar aside, the trailer adds that detail because we've all become used to seeing trailers for films that will be available in our living rooms within a week or two. How do good movies end up exclusive to home viewing, and how does a movie like The Boogeyman escape that fate?

Of all the streaming services out there, Hulu has an interesting relationship with horror films. From their seemingly endless line of Blumhouse films to weird in-house productions like Grimcutty, the service has a wide selection. Even beloved franchises like Predator and Hellraiser dropped their latest entries on Hulu. It would seem a fitting place for the newest Stephen King adaptation, but the film managed to scare up a wide release.

RELATED: Prey Deserved To Be Seen On The Big Screen

The Boogeyman is an adaptation of Stephen King's 1973 short story of the same name. King is one of the most prolific horror writers of all time, cranking out novels and novellas at an absurd rate. Of his many works, a massive percentage has been adapted to the screen in some form or fashion. Someone could make a pretty good anthology series out of his remaining library. The Boogeyman comes across as a traditional paranormal monster movie. It doesn't look much different from Sinister or Lights Out. Its scares look pretty familiar, its narrative thrust doesn't seem new, and its effects look far from groundbreaking. The film was initially aimed straight at Hulu, but the film was recently granted a wide release in theaters around the world.

Scott-Beck-Bryan-Woods-Stephen-King-The-Boogeyman Cropped

It is basically impossible to predict what will and won't get a wide release these days. Stephen King's name on the poster likely contributed some credibility to the film, but that doesn't always guarantee a wide release. The current most recent adaptation of King's work is Mr. Harrigan's Phone, which dropped straight onto Netflix in October. 1922, In the Tall Grass, and Gerald's Game all did the same. Perhaps even more interesting, The Boogeyman isn't part of any established franchise. Prey, the long-awaited fifth entry in the widely beloved Predator franchise, and Hellraiser, the reboot of the franchise of the same name, never saw the inside of a theater. Both of those films were great, fans loved them, and newcomers engaged with the franchises for the first time. What puts The Boogeyman above them?

Franchise media dominates most genres. Just about every big action movie falls into one of the big series or cinematic universes. Horror behaves a bit differently in this regard. There are a few franchises, but they suffer a quick case of diminishing returns. The Conjuring films keep coming out, the Paranormal Activity franchise is still around, and someone keeps greenlighting Saw movies, but when a lot of people are talking about a new horror movie, it's usually a new IP. That's not to say every new horror film that comes out with a new name is original, most of them are just remixes of existing concepts. Horror franchises exist as easy sequel mills, but they'll never reclaim the appeal of their first entries. To get people talking, a horror film must break new ground.

By all accounts, The Boogeyman earned its theatrical release after a series of positive test screenings. The film has gone through a lot to be released at all. It was pitched in 2018, but the film was shelved after Disney bought 21st Century Fox the following year. The concept was revived with a new team of writers and a new director, set to premiere on Hulu. Hulu gets so many great horror movies because its majority owner is Disney. If the mouse has an IP that's a bit too grown up to live on the same service as Doc McStuffins, it's headed to Hulu. The Boogeyman, evidently through sheer quality, convinced the good people at 20th Century Studios (also owned by Disney) to put the film in theaters. This suggests several interesting things about the state of Disney's distribution strategy.

prey-predator-movie Cropped

Did Prey get test screenings before landing on Hulu? Did some marketing wisdom prevent it from earning a theatrical release? It's entirely possible that the film never got the chance offered to The Boogeyman. From a business perspective, the reason a film launches on a streaming service is to drive subscribers to sign up. The new Predator or Hellraiser movie is a compelling pitch, but it's clear that theatrical release is a higher point of honor. If a movie can simply work its way off of a streaming service and onto the big screen, then anything that gets dumped out for home viewing risks a terrible brand. A theatrical release shouldn't be a seal of quality, nor should a streaming release be the opposite, but watching Disney and companies like it decide what goes where is a clear sign of the times. Keep an eye on The Boogeyman and films like it, they could hold the secrets to understanding the odd state of modern movie magic.

MORE: Streaming Services Have A Marketing Problem