Another day, another batch of movie delays. “No Time to Die”, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife”, “Morbius”, “Cinderella”, “The King’s Man”, “Bob’s Burgers: The Movie”, “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”, “Uncharted”, “BIOS” and “Antlers” are some of the most recent titles to get theatrical shifts.
In the case of the latest 007 action movie, it’s now currently scheduled for October 8th, 18 months after it was originally supposed to open. “NTTD” was just four weeks away from its debut when it made the drastic (at the time) April to November shift, which didn’t work out. MGM is determined to release this in theaters, though I’ve always had a gut feeling that this will end-up on AppleTV+. I know that doesn’t look like the case right now, but never say never.
Sony seems to be just as determined to make sure the majority of its upcoming movies debut in theaters as well. They don’t want At Home premieres of “Morbius”, “Ghostbusters” or “Peter Rabbit 2”. And yet… they just sent animated comedy adventure “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” to Netflix (shortly after the streaming giant acquired animated “Wish Dragon”, too).
The only things you can pretty much count on these days are Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and VOD release dates. Once they’re announced, they’re usually set in stone. These days, it’s much easier to upload a film that way then send it to thousands of theater locations and ask for people to show up. Warner Bros. should feel confident with its simultaneous theatrical & HBO Max plan for all of its 2021 releases. Disney is doing the same with “Raya and the Last Dragon” – theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on March 5th.
But when it comes to the films studios desperately want at the cinema… it’s out of sight, out of mind. These movies are instantly eliminated from my radar and they don’t need to return until their releases get much, much closer. (In the case of “Morbius”, exactly a year from now.) I’ve got enough to worry about… and enough movies ACTUALLY being released to concentrate on.