Tuesday Update: As expected as a result of the Dune move The Batman – which was originally due 25th June 2021 and was then delayed until 1st October 2021 – has now formally shifted its release to 4th March 2022.
Monday: Though the departure of No Time to Die, the 25th James Bond movie, from November to Easter 2021 was largely seen as the last nail in the coffin of 2020 cinema, there were still a few prominent hold-outs that were gambling on December being a more likely prospect for release. But their hopes are definitely fading.
It now seems all but certain that the much-anticipated Dune is leaving its 18th December debut and will move almost an entire year to 1st October 2021. Given that The Batman the Warner Bros.‘ reimagining of the iconic character with Robert Pattinson in the cowl, has that weekend penciled in itself, the big money seems to be on The Batman shifting out of October to even later in 2021. (There’s no real way they could launch earlier instead as the film has already been hit with filming delays after an early shutdown in March and another hiatus when Pattinson recently tested positive).
Industry site Deadline notes that there are still some films due for December release that stubbornly refuse to move so far. 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy remains on 11th December 11th,; Death on the Nile is still in denial for 18th December along with Eddie Murphy’s upcoming Coming 2 America from Paramount and Universal’s News of the World. However with major cinema chains closing once again, none of those remain a sure thing.
The big release of Wonder Woman 1984 is still on for 25th December having moved from 1st November 2019 to 5th June 2020 to 2nd October to the latest Christmas Day status. But while there are high hopes for the film on a creative level, its release date must surely now be in serious doubt and with the notion that there may be NO significant movies making any money until next year and no screens to show them on – an unprecedented downturn in output and profit for the recently booming industry.
