Deadline confirms that Sony Pictures has pushed Screen Gems' Monster Hunter from its planned Labor Day weekend release on September 4th all the way to April 23rd, 2021. Paramount Pictures' A Quiet Place Part II is set to open that same September slot, so chances are that's why the rival studio has decided to back down.
After all, longterm forecasts for upcoming movies aren't good as closed theaters, social distancing guidelines, and general uncertainty about whether it's safe to sit in an eclosed space for two hours with stranger during a pandemic will all take a major chunk out of box office hauls.
In fact, there may not be a single movie in 2020 that does any better than break even at this point.
The trade also explains that, "with L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti indicating he’s about to lock down the city again, we’re poised to see the entire August release schedule slide into the fall. I’m told by sources if L.A. closes down theaters, it would take hard-top theaters another month to reopen."
As a result, Sony may have just decided to bite the bullet with Monster Hunter, and push it to a safer date. Now, the video game adaptation will face off against Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho, action movie The Asset, and animated feature Ron's Gone Wrong.
Are you disappointed by this release date delay?