How Far Would You Go to Save Your Family from a Comet Apocalypse?

Actor Gerard Butler and director Ric Roman Waugh, fresh off their success with 2019's "Angel Has Fallen," have reunited for a new apocalyptic thriller called "Greenland."

Butler plays John Garrity, a dad who's working through some marital issues with wife Allison (Morena Baccarin, "Deadpool"). The mainstream media says that stray bits from a disintegrating comet will hit the world's atmosphere but not cause any serious trouble.

However, the mainstream media and their friends in the science-industrial complex have blown the call, and the comet is actually an apocalyptic threat to life on Earth. Garrity is determined to get his family from their home in what's actually Georgia (no word on what location the open-for-filming Peach State is pretending to be in this movie) to a remote military base in Greenland.

He's not the only one who's got that idea, and a mob attacks military transport planes about to take off for the frozen north. Will Butler/Garrity use his wiles to save his family? Who makes it to safety in Greenland? What's the state of the planet once the comet shower is over?

These questions will be answered when "Greenland" premieres as a $19.99 pay-per-view rental on Dec. 18. You'll get access to the movie for 48 hours, and it will be available for rent at all the usual outlets (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Fandango+ and cable on demand). If you're willing to wait a bit, the movie is coming to HBO and HBO Max in early 2021.

"Greenland" is another 2020 pandemic movie theater casualty. The film was originally set to open on Sept. 25, and distributor STX was still aiming for a November release as recently as a couple of weeks ago. The company realized that there's no way to do an effective nationwide release right now, so it made a huge deal with HBO for the streaming rights and gave itself a rental window before the end of the year.

If you're looking at 2021, that deal reveals another truth. The streamers are running out of new programming because filming shut down for at least six months this year, and there's still a limit as to what kind of productions they can shoot under strict safety protocols. A thriller like "Greenland" is hard to make right now, and audiences love Butler when he's saving the world.

Weirdly, "Greenland" has been released around the world and debuted at No. 1 in 24 countries even without the American audience's stamp of approval. The film has already turned a profit and gotten excellent reviews in the countries that have seen it.

Related: How Director Ric Roman Waugh Brought Veteran Issues to 'Angel Has Fallen'

Waugh has enjoyed a solid reputation in the military community since his 2015 film "That Which I Love Destroys Me," a documentary that follows veterans Jayson Floyd and Tyler Grey as they learn to deal with their post-traumatic stress while they pursue careers in Hollywood. He was able to inject elements of what he learned about PTSD into "Angel Has Fallen," helping making it a rare third movie in an action franchise that still delivered the thrills but managed to inject new dimensions into a beloved character.

"Greenland" seems like the kind of movie that would be most fun in a crowded theater amped up for a night out. Sadly, that's not an option right now.

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