Following the delay in March of several upcoming releases, Disney on Friday announced further changes to its theatrical release schedule as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend Hollywood.
The $200 million-plus live-action “Mulan,” previously scheduled for release on March 27, is now set to be released on July 24, moving Dwayne Johnson’s “Jungle Cruise” off that date and back a full year to July 30, 2021.
Scarlett Johansson’s Marvel movie “Black Widow,” previously dated for May 1, now moves to the November 6 slot previously held by the Angelina Jolie-led “The Eternals.” That sets up a big shift in upcoming MCU titles, with “The Eternals” moving to Feb. 12, 2021, “Shang-Chi” to May 7, 2021, “Doctor Strange 2” to November 5, 2021, and “Thor: Love And Thunder to Feb 18, 2022. “Black Panther 2” remains on the schedule for May 6, 2022 and “Captain Marvel 2” is now set for July 8, 2022.
“Artemis Fowl,” a family adventure based on Eoin Colfer’s best-selling book series, will not only miss its May 29 theatrical release date but skip theaters altogether and premiere on Disney+ at some date to be determined.
The Ryan Reynolds action comedy “Free Guy” moves from July 3 to Dec. 11. Director Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” moves from July 24, 2020 to Oct. 16, 2020. “Untitled Indiana Jones” moves to July 29, 2022. And Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both remain on the schedule for release this December.
But a bunch of other Disney and Searchlight titles — including “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” “Antlers,” “Woman in the Window” and “The New Mutants” — remain undated at this time with release dates to be announced soon.
Other Hollywood studios have been making similar, sweeping changes to their tentpole release strategies as the film industry adjusts to the indefinite closure of movie theaters worldwide to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As the virus spread across the globe, major films set for release in April and May were pulled left and right, including “F9,” and “No Time to Die.” Once the wave of theater lockdowns hit the U.S., June blockbusters like “Wonder Woman 1984” soon followed.
Even if a doomsday scenario for movie theaters is avoided and they are able to reopen by July, the studio’s plan to move their biggest films of the year from the summer shows how studios may be hesitant to get right back to sending big-budget blockbusters into theaters.
Not only will studios want to have an assurance that they will be able to hold a full marketing campaign, but some analysts and executives told TheWrap that there is the possibility that moviegoers may be reluctant to immediately return to public gatherings unless it is clear that the virus is no longer a threat to public health.