LOS ANGELES—When it comes to the movie release calendar, Hollywood studios are stuck in a “Groundhog Day” routine of delays.
A fresh batch of films scheduled for theatrical release in February, March or April are being postponed or sold to streaming services as cases of Covid-19 stay at high levels across the country. Executives say to expect a cascade of rescheduling that stretches into the summer moviegoing season.
“Morbius,” a “Spider-Man” spinoff scheduled for release by Sony Pictures Entertainment on March 19, will now debut on Oct. 8, giving the studio a seven-month leeway and delaying what was expected to be the first big-budget, wide-release offering since theaters closed last March.
Hollywood executives anticipate more major releases to follow, including the twice-delayed James Bond installment “No Time to Die,” currently planned for an April release that now seems a remote possibility. Sony’s new “Cinderella” adaptation and the Walt Disney Co. prequel “The King’s Man,” both scheduled for release within the next two months, could get bumped as well.
Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at ViacomCBS Inc.’s Paramount Pictures, projects moviegoing will resume to varying degrees in May and June ahead of a “very bullish” third quarter. For his part, he has scheduled one of his studio’s biggest 2021 movies, “Top Gun: Maverick,” to premiere July 2, and said he doesn’t expect that date to change.
