Lionsgate will release the Halle Berry shark attack thriller Dark Tide on VOD

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Video On Demand is slowly but surely becoming part of our movie-going lives. (Or is it movie-sitting lives?) Take for example DARK TIDE, the John Stockwell-directed thriller starring Halle Berry and Oliver Martinez. Now, even though her star has fallen quite a bit over the last few years, Ms. Berry can still be considered a major Hollywood actress. And combined with a genre-friendly premise like DARK TIDE’s, the package should be a natural for a big theatrical debut.

But Lionsgate and Wrekin Hill Entertainment have decided to premiere the flick first on VOD on MARCH 8th before swimming toward a theatrical release on MARCH 30th (which I’m assuming will be limited). Surprising, and yet not so surprising, given the climate of the box office and the growing popularity of the Video On Demand format.

The premise: Kate (Berry) is a shark expert whose business has been failing since a shark attack killed a fellow diver under her command. Once dubbed “the shark whisperer,” Kate is haunted by the memory of the attack and unable to get back into the water. With bills piling up and the bank about to foreclose on Kate’s boat, Kate’s old flame Jeff (Martinez) presents her with a lucrative opportunity: lead a thrill-seeking millionaire businessman on a dangerous shark dive…outside the cage. Battling her self-doubts and fear, Kate accepts the proposal — and sets a course for the world’s deadliest feeding ground: Shark Alley.