It was almost a year ago when MGM shocked everyone by pushing No Time to Die from April to November. Of course, the next instalment in the James Bond franchise failed to meet that release date as well, and is currently scheduled for April 2nd. However, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that "not even that date will hold," according to the trade's sources.
There's speculation the movie will be pushed back as far as October, November, or December, with one studio executive stating, "I think everything substantive between now and Top Gun: Maverick in early July will move. It’s a mess."
Among those likely to be delayed in the coming weeks are A Quiet Place Part II, Black Widow, and F9. Even the likes of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Minions: The Rise of Gru might not be safe. Universal Pictures has, of course, embraced PVOD releases, but insiders are confident that theaters will need to be open globally to justify the release of something like F9.
"Lest anyone thought that the transition from 2020 into 2021 would magically fix the issues that perplexed the industry for the past almost 12 months, the reality is that the many of the very same market forces are still in play and will continue to inform the strategic decisions of studios and creatives alike," says Comscore's Paul Dergarabedian. "That said, there is hope for a recovery for the theatrical movie biz on the horizon, but of course that future is in constant flux."
January - March has already emptied, so all eyes are now on April and May.
Needless to say, it's going to take a while before things get back to normal. Studios will soon be forced to decide whether they're happy to take a loss and make something, or continue to delay movies and push everything they have in the pipeline even further down the release calendar.