Sony Pictures wasted no time in sending Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage into 2021 once it became clear that theaters would have to close as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the studio has now shared a surprisingly bold statement. Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tony Vinciquerra has confirmed that no major blockbusters will be released until the virus is gone.
"What we won’t do is make the mistake of putting a very, very expensive $200 million movie out in the market unless we’re sure that theaters are open and operating at significant capacity," he said, clearly conscious of the fact Tenet pretty much bombed in North American theaters last weekend.
"You’ll see a lot of strange things happen over the next six months in how films are released, how they’re scheduled, how they’re marketed, but once we get back to normal, we will have learned a lot I think and found ways to do things that are somewhat different and hopefully better," he added.
This is definitely troubling for anyone looking forward to the Marvel movies mentioned above because there's nothing to say we'll have a vaccine even by this time next year! Sony Pictures is fortunate enough not to have to rely solely on its big screen ventures, so the studio can afford to take its time (what this means for next December's Spider-Man 3 obviously remains to be seen).
We'll keep you guys updated, but it could be a while before we know anything for sure.