Surprise, surprise—another week, another threat that the films coming to theaters soon with be delayed. However, this time, the delays could affect more than just “Tenet,” “Mulan,” and the other features scheduled to arrive in August. According to a new report from Deadline, it appears that the fall films are starting to feel the pressure of either having to move or risk releasing on their scheduled dates.
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The report claims that studios are all looking at the next week to help decide what happens to the rest of the summer schedule and the first part of the fall, as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in some states, including the all-too-important California. Apparently, with California Governor, Gavin Newsom, expected to announce tougher restrictions today, studios are going to wait until after July 4 to decide what happens with films arriving in August and September.
Yes, that means we’re likely looking at yet another “Tenet” and “Mulan” delay fiasco. But that’s just the beginning. Now, it appears that films scheduled for September releases, such as the highly-anticipated “The Conjuring 3,” could vacate dates and move into 2021. Deadline says that “The Conjuring 3,” in particular, is likely to move from its September 11 release into 2021 if we see more delays in August.
READ MORE: Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Moves To Late August, & ‘Bill & Ted 3’ Shifts Again
And though it’s not mentioned in the report, we can surmise that the same considerations are being discussed for “A Quiet Place Part II” on September 4, as well as other early-fall features such as “Monster Hunter,” “The King’s Man,” and “Candyman.” These are all films that would probably have to re-evaluate their release dates if films such as “Tenet,” “Mulan,” “Bill & Ted 3,” and other August features get pushed back yet again.
However, it’s also worth mentioning that August marks the end of the traditional summer movie season. And though this year has been anything but “traditional,” there are still some axioms that studios follow that could factor into this as well. Does Warner Bros. still want to risk a “Tenet” release if it falls outside of the summer and into September? Will Disney just wait until 2021 to try again with “Mulan” or will the studio need to figure out another release strategy for the feature? Does COVID-19 affect when/if kids go back to school in the fall and how will that affect the release of films targeting families?
Basically, so, so many questions and very little answers. But as we’ve seen in the past three months, let’s just plan on everything changing until we have the opportunity to sit in front of a big screen and watch one of these films at a cinema. That’s really the only time we’ll know for sure what’s going on.
