It seems like only yesterday I was talking about how a Dutch cinema owner said “No Time to Die” was going to be delayed (again) from this April until November. Wait, it wasn’t yesterday, it was actually earlier today. And according to a new report from Variety, “No Time to Die” isn’t the only film that is on the bullet train to Delaysville.
READ MORE: Dutch Cinema Owner Claims ‘No Time To Die’ Is Delayed Again Until November 2021
In a macro sense, it’s unfortunate that the COVID-19 vaccine is taking longer than anticipated to reach the general public. Early estimates had millions more being vaccinated than are actually getting access to it currently. Not only is that bad news for humanity in general, as we want everyone to be safe and healthy, but it’s also terrible news for the film industry, specifically theater owners who were hoping that March would usher in the return of studio blockbusters to the big screen. Well, if Variety is correct, we should get ready for yet another major exodus by studios, as they are expected to announce major delays on some of the biggest films of the year in light of the slow spread of the vaccine.
The report claims films in March and April, such as “Morbius,” “Cinderella,” “The King’s Man,” and “No Time to Die” are “very unlikely” to keep their current release dates. Obviously, that would put theaters at an incredible disadvantage as that would leave folks without a major blockbuster to get excited about until May and Marvel Studios’ release of “Black Widow.” However, as the report claims (and Kevin Feige seemed to hint at recently), the release of “Black Widow” and other May features seem to be in peril as well.
“Black Widow,” along with films like “Free Guy,” “Cruella,” “Infinite,” “Godzilla vs. Kong” (though that’s an entirely different story), and yes, even “F9” could be on the delay bus soon enough. The report claims “many” of those features are expected to be delayed or shift to a digital release/theatrical hybrid model if things don’t “drastically improve” over the next month.
Obviously, we’ve been down this road a few times before, where large groups of films announce delays a few months before release because these studios have to decide soon whether or not to spend millions on marketing. And if theaters aren’t expected to be back to (or near) full strength by May, then it’s unlikely studios are going to risk it.
READ MORE: Global Box Office Dropped 72% In 2020 As China Beat The US For The First Time
This news comes on the heels of a recent New York Times article that has Dr. Anthony Fauci (the lead scientist in the US government when it comes to COVID-19-related items) predicting that live venues and theaters won’t be back to normal until closer to fall of this year. That is if 70% to 85% of the population is vaccinated by that point. If that’s the case, that would eliminate back-to-back summer movie seasons and you have to wonder which theaters will be around to survive until then?
Regardless, no one should be getting overly optimistic that 2021 is going to see the film industry go back to business as usual anytime soon.