History Trivia / TheHunt2020

* BoxOfficeBomb: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the film making less than half of its $14 million budget worldwide.

* EarlyBirdRelease: Shortly after its theatrical release, the film was made available on video on demand, along the likes of ''Film/Emma2020'' and ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}''. The reason for this is the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic shutting down many theaters across the world.
* ReleaseDateChange: A notorious case. Originally set for September 27, 2019, the film's trailer garnered extremely vicious reactions from U.S. right-wing media, accusing the film of being a dangerous political tool intended to glorify the murder of conservatives. Even then-President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump got in on the act, condemning "Liberal Hollywood" for making the film. Paired with two high-profile mass shooting events in August 2019, with the shooter expressing a political bent in each, Creator/{{Universal}} suspended advertizing for the film and eventually removed it from the schedule, later redating it for March 13, 2020. Unfortunately for the film (which launched a new promotional campaign [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity embracing the controversy]]), the new date landed it right at the onset of [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19 lockdowns]], cutting its run short after just five days in theaters and forcing it to shift to a VOD release.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The Hunt's original September 27, 2019 was cancelled due to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio and the eventual controversy surrounding the film. Coincidentally, Universal opted to release ''WesternAnimation/{{Abominable}}'' on that date instead, as it was scheduled much earlier than this movie.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Film/NeverRarelySometimesAlways'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' (later nominated for an Emmy) give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Although [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Most Dangerous Game'' was renewed for a second season on the service (the fate of which is unknown following Quibi's shutdown and the first season's ChannelHop to The Roku Channel), while ''The Hunt'' is not expected to receive a follow-up after its poor box office.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Both of its two planned release dates suggested that Universal was treating the film as a token release. Its initial date of September 27th, 2019 had the film positioned just one week before ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', a massive blockbuster that likely would have stolen ''Hunt'''s "controversial" thunder as well; it was also the same date as Universal's own Creator/DreamworksAnimation film ''WesternAnimation/{{Abominable}}'', which presumably would've received higher advertising priority. The final date of March 13th, 2020 saw the film opening just two weeks after Universal's horror hit ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020''[[labelnote:*]](indeed, ''Invisible Man'' grossed more than ''Hunt'' on the latter's opening weekend)[[/labelnote]] and a week before the planned release of expected horror blockbuster ''Film/AQuietPlacePartII''. Pandemic or no pandemic, it seems the studio never saw ''The Hunt'' as much of a moneymaker.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' (later nominated for an Emmy) give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Although [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Most Dangerous Game'' was renewed for a second season on the service (the fate of which is unknown following Quibi's shutdown and the first season's ChannelHop to The Roku Channel), while ''The Hunt'' is not expected to receive a follow-up after its poor box office.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' (later nominated for an Emmy) give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Although [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Most Dangerous Game'' was renewed for a second season on the service (the fate of which is unknown following the announcement of Quibi's shutdown in October 2020), while ''The Hunt'' is not expected to receive a follow-up after its poor box office.

* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: The Hunt's original September 27, 2019 was cancelled due to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Coincidentally, Universal already had ''WesternAnimation/{{Abominable}}'' set for release on that date as mentioned below, and was scheduled much earlier.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' (later nominated for an Emmy) give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Although [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Most Dangerous Game'' was renewed for a second season on the service, while ''The Hunt'' is not expected to receive a follow-up after its poor box office.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Both of its two planned release dates suggested that Universal was treating the film as a token release. Its initial date of September 27th, 2019 had the film positioned just one week before ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', a massive blockbuster that likely would have stolen ''Hunt'''s "controversial" thunder as well; it was also the same date as Universal's own Creator/DreamworksAnimation film ''WesternAnimation/{{Abominable}}'', which presumably would've received higher advertising priority. The final date of March 13th, 2020 saw the film opening just two weeks after Universal's horror hit ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020''[[labelnote:*]](indeed, ''Invisible Man'' grossed more than ''Hunt'' on the latter's opening weekend[[/labelnote]] and a week before the planned release of expected horror blockbuster ''Film/AQuietPlacePartII''. Pandemic or no pandemic, it seems the studio never saw ''The Hunt'' as much of a moneymaker.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Both of its two planned release dates suggested that Universal was treating the film as a token release. Its initial date of September 27th, 2019 had the film positioned just one week before ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', a massive blockbuster that likely would have stolen ''Hunt'''s "controversial" thunder as well; it was also the same date as Universal's own Creator/DreamworksAnimation film ''WesternAnimation/{{Abominable}}'', which presumably would've received higher advertising priority. The final date of March 13th, 2020 saw the film opening just two weeks after Universal's horror hit ''Film/TheInvisibleMan2020''[[)labelnote:*]](indeed, ''Invisible Man'' grossed more than ''Hunt'' on the latter's opening weekend[[/labelnote]] and a week before the planned release of expected horror blockbuster ''Film/AQuietPlacePartII''. Pandemic or no pandemic, it seems the studio never saw ''The Hunt'' as much of a moneymaker.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Although [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Most Dangerous Game'' was renewed for a second season on the service, while ''The Hunt'' is not expected to receive a follow-up after its poor box office.
* EarlyBirdRelease: Shortly after its theatrical release, the film was made available on video on demand, along the likes of ''Film/Emma2020'' and ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}''. The reason for this is the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic shutting down many theaters across the world.

* BoxOfficeBomb: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the film making less than half of its $14 million budget.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures from Quibi for ''Game'', it's hard to call an exact winner in this duel. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences. Ultimately, [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/business/media/jeffrey-katzenberg-quibi-coronavirus.html with Quibi executive Jeffrey Katzenberg confirming that early viewership figures for Quibi have been disastrous]], ''Hunt'' seems like the winner by virtue of more people at least knowing it even exists - but that's cold comfort for those who lost money on ''The Hunt'''s multiple advertising campaigns and failed theatrical release.

* EarlyBirdRelease: Shortly after its theatrical release, the film was made available on video on demand, along the likes of ''Film/Emma2020'' and ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}''. The reason for this is the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]] shutting down many theaters across the world.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited [[https://www.wsj.com/articles/trolls-world-tour-breaks-digital-records-and-charts-a-new-path-for-hollywood-11588066202 $60 million in rental figures]] between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures for Quibi, it's hard to call a winner in this duel - though, due to Quibi's 90-day free trial offer at launch, ''Hunt'' by definition generated more in revenue[[labelnote:*]]though it suffered the misfortune of multiple advertising campaigns for its two failed theatrical release dates[[/labelnote]]. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences.

* DuelingWorks: With the Quibi series ''Most Dangerous Game'' starring Creator/LiamHemsworth, released just under a month after ''Hunt'' (on Quibi's launch day). Due to the lack of concrete digital rental numbers for ''The Hunt''[[labelnote:*]]Universal cited $60 million in rental figures between ''Hunt'', ''The Invisible Man'', ''Emma.'' and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', but did not clarify how the figures were distributed across the four films, and ''Hunt'' has generally ranked below ''Invisible Man'' and ''Emma.'' in digital sales rankings[[/labelnote]] or viewership figures for Quibi, it's hard to call a winner in this duel - though, due to Quibi's 90-day free trial offer at launch, ''Hunt'' by definition generated more in revenue[[labelnote:*]]though it suffered the misfortune of multiple advertising campaigns for its two failed theatrical release dates[[/labelnote]]. In terms of reviews, the mixed-positive reviews for ''Most Dangerous Game'' give it the edge on ''The Hunt'' and its polarizing response, though ''Game'' has far fewer reviews from either critics or audiences.

* EarlyBirdRelease: Shortly after its theatrical release, the film was madz available on video on demand, along the likes of ''Film/Emma2020'' and ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}''. The reason for this is the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]] shutting down many theaters across the world.

* EarlyBirdRelease: Shortly after its theatrical release, the film was available on video on demand, along the likes of ''Film/Emma2020'' and ''Film/{{The Invisible Man|2020}}''. The reason for this is the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]] shutting down many theaters across the world.

* CaliforniaDoubling: An amusing case both out and ''in''-universe. The hunters trick the targets into thinking that they're in Arkansas, whereas they're actually in Croatia. The film was entirely shot in Louisiana.