The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has this week led to a spate of major movie release dates being pushed back, including James Cameron's long-awaited Avatar sequels and the feverishly-anticipated Christopher Nolan sci-fi movie Tenet. Following the initial lockdown of movie theaters worldwide that began in spring 2020, studios remained optimistic that they would be able release their tentpole movies in mid-to-late summer.
In June 2020, major theater chains like AMC and Cineworld announced that they would be reopening in July. However, a spike in COVID-19 infections across several US states has since led to further delays, with AMC now aiming to reopen its screens in August instead. The uncertain times have created a cyclical problem: while theaters are still closed, studios are pushing release dates back; but even if theaters did reopen, these release date delays mean that they would have no major new movies to show.
It's now been four months since the last major theatrical movie release. Some titles, like Trolls: World Tour, have found success in a straight-to-VOD model. Meanwhile, The New Mutants is optimistically clinging to its planned August 28 release date, after more than two years of delays. As of this week, though, moviegoers will have to wait even longer for these upcoming releases.
Horror movies can be one of the best genres to experience in a crowded theater, as proven by the success of The Invisible Man earlier this year. Scott Cooper's supernatural monster movie Antlers was originally supposed to release on April 17, 2020, but was indefinitely delayed after lockdowns began. Since Antlers wasn't given a new release date at the time it technically hasn't been delayed again, but we now know not to expect it any time this year. It's been given a new date of February 19, 2021.
The Avatar sequels have been delayed so many times that it's easy to forget they were still on the way. Avatar 2 was supposed to release in December 2021, but as of this week all of the sequels - from Avatar 2 through to Avatar 5 - have been pushed back by a full year each. The movies were planned to release two years apart, which means that with the delays it will be 2028 before Avatar 5 releases. Meanwhile, Avatar 2 can now be expected in December 2022.
A decade after the release of the magnum opus that was Jackass 3D, Johnny Knoxville and his ragtag crew of masochists are set to reunite for Jackass 4. It's unclear how far along the movie was in production, but it has been hit by the same shutdowns as the rest of the industry. Even though Jackass movies aren't exactly what anyone would call "safe" endeavors under normal circumstances, the coronavirus pandemic adds an entirely unwelcome level of risk to trying to organize stunts. As a result, Paramount Pictures announced this week that Jackass 4 had been delayed from its planned July 2021 release (which had already been pushed back from March) to the new date of September 3, 2021.
The latest adaptation of a classic Disney animated movie, Mulan, had already had its Hollywood premiere in March when its wide release was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was delayed to July 24, and then again to August 21, with Disney clearly hoping that this would be the big tentpole release when theaters reopened. With the uncertainty over whether or not theaters will actually open next month, however, Mulan has now been removed from Disney's release schedule entirely. It will presumably be given a new release date once Hollywood has a more concrete idea of what the future holds.
A Quiet Place Part II is another release that was cancelled at the last minute, after it had already had its premiere in New York. Originally set for a wide release on March 19, it was officially pulled just one week earlier, after 60% of the global marketing and distribution budget had already been spent. No new release date was announced at the time, but fans of the original were holding out hope that they would still get to see it this year. Instead, A Quiet Place Part II has now been rescheduled for release on April 23, 2021.
Release windows were one of the very few details known about the upcoming movies in Disney's Star Wars franchise, and now those have been reshuffled as well. The studio had set aside release dates for December 2022, 2024, and 2026 for the next trilogy. However, all three movies have now been delayed by one year, with their releases now planned for December 2023, 2025, and 2027. While this might seem extreme, movies on the scale of Star Wars generally have very long production schedules due to the amount of development, pre-production and post-production required. Lucasfilm presumably wants to have the luxury of time when it comes to the next stage of the franchise, particularly after the mixed response to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
One of the most hyped movies of the year is also one that both director Christopher Nolan and studio Warner Bros. have been doggedly hoping to get into theaters, despite the ongoing pandemic. Tenet is a high-concept sci-fi movie starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, which is based around the idea of people who experience the flow of time backwards. Originally set for release on July 17, Tenet clung to that date for a long time before being pushed back a couple of weeks to July 31, and then another couple of weeks to August 12.
With this latest delay the studio has yet to commit to another specific date, but Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement that "We will share a new 2020 release date imminently." While some analysts have suggested that the movie would be better off heading straight to HBO Max as a way to boost the new streaming service, both Warner Bros. and Nolan appear to be committed to having Tenet seen by audiences for the first time on the big screen.
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