Movie theaters closed? No problem: “Fortnite,” the massively popular battle royale game, is hosting virtual screenings of three Christopher Nolan films this Friday, June 26. The trio of Nolan pics — not all of which will be available in all countries — are “Inception” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page; “Batman Begins,” the 2005 movie starring Christian Bale; and “The Prestige” starring Bale and Hugh Jackman. Epic Games announced the “Movie Nite” event Wednesday, direction “Fortnite” players to fortnite.com/partyroyale to find showtimes based on their location.
In the U.S., the movie that’s scheduled to be available is Nolan’s mind-bending “Inception,” which will be streaming on the Big Screen located on the game’s Party Royale island at 8 a.m., 8 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. ET. The mini-filmfest comes after the trailer for Nolan’s upcoming thriller “Tenet” was released last month in “Fortnite.”
Nolan’s “The Prestige” will be available to players in countries including the U.K., Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany; “Batman Begins” will screen for users in territories including India, France, and Brazil. “Inception,” in addition to the U.S. and Puerto Rico, will be available on “Fortnite” in countries including Mexico, Japan, Egypt, Israel and the Philippines.
A rep for Epic Games said the company worked with both Warner Bros. and Nolan for the special movie screenings. Regarding the first-ever “Fortnite” Movie Nite, Epic Games said in a blog post, “Navigating distribution rights for different countries and languages for full movies is challenging. As part of this first test, we wanted as many people to experience Movie Nite as possible. The film you’ll be able to watch will depend on your country, and unfortunately we couldn’t reach everyone with these screenings.”
The events continue “Fortnite’s” strategy of building up the game as an entertainment destination with Party Royale, which Epic Games calls “a new experimental and evolving space.” It has featured virtual concerts from artists including Travis Scott — who broke attendance records — as well as Marshmello and Deadmau5. “Fortnite” has more than 350 million players, according to Epic Games.
—
Photo Credit: aspen rock / Shutterstock.com