Barbenheimer fever may be sweeping the planet, but some of 2023’s other notable releases could reportedly be shifted back to 2024.
According to Variety, Dune: Part Two – the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel – could move from its initial release date of November 3 to next year.
Warner Bros. is also "assessing potential new dates" for its holiday season crop, including DC sequel Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom and The Color Purple.
It’s worth tempering expectations, however, of a box office wasteland from November onwards. Sources close to Variety say "no formal discussions" have taken place in regards to new release dates.
But it’s certainly a concern – and not just for Warner Bros. With the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, talent will not be able to promote their movies in interviews or through other means. Some movies live and die on word-of-mouth and, as we’ve seen with Barbie and Oppenheimer, a deluge of marketing can be the difference between a decent hit and a worldwide sensation. If the strikes, including the WGA strike, rumble on, then a threat of delays could become a reality.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, meanwhile, has got its own fair share of problems. The Jason Momoa-starring sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has undergone multiple reshoots. Now, Ben Affleck’s Batman has been cut out of the movie, with DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran seemingly not wanting to promise a cinematic universe that would never come to fruition.
For more on what’s coming to cinemas (for now), check out our guides to upcoming movies and movie release dates.
