New year, same problems for the movie industry – if you thought the seemingly endless slew of release date delays would be left in 2020, think again, as it seems like there are a lot more on the horizon.
“I think everything substantive between now and Top Gun: Maverick in early July will move. It’s a mess,” one veteran studio executive predicts, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Tom Cruise-led sequel is currently due out on July 1.
Other major releases likely to be affected include horror sequel A Quiet Place II, (which is currently due to be released on April 23), the MCU’s Black Widow, which is slated for May 7, and the next Fast & Furious instalment, F9, which is scheduled for May 28. All of these titles were originally meant to release back in 2020, so have already been delayed at least once.
No Time to Die was the first major movie to delay its release date at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – it was originally meant to hit the big screen in April 2020, before being pushed back to November, then back again to April 2021 (although it seems like it won’t be staying there for long).
However, these delays are unlikely to include any from Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate, as the studio is opting for a hybrid release tactic – movies will premiere simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, including Dune, The Suicide Squad, and The Matrix 4. The studio is even going as far as to push release dates forward in the case of Godzilla vs. Kong, moving it from May 21 to March 26.
While the world of new movie releases remains up in the air, get your film fix with our list of the best Netflix movies you can watch right now.
