'Peter Rabbit 2' Delayed Until August Due To The Coronavirus Outbreak

This is becoming a trend, huh? After the big delay of “No Time To Die,” we’ve seen some indie films get pushed back due to coronavirus, including Magnolia’s documentary “Slay the Dragon.” However, Sony is joining the delay bandwagon with the upcoming family film, “Peter Rabbit 2.”

READ MORE: Italian Government Orders All Cinemas In the Country To Close Due To Coronavirus

According to THR, Sony has delayed “Peter Rabbit 2” from its international release date of March 27 and its US release of April 3 (a little more than a week before Easter) to August 7. As mentioned, the move comes after coronavirus has been steadily spreading throughout the world, with recent spikes in the US. But even though the death toll and infected numbers have risen in the US, the worst of it seems to be in Europe and Asia, with territories like Italy recently shutting down all of its cinemas to help prevent the spread.

While “Peter Rabbit 2” isn’t expected to be a billion-dollar grosser like “No Time To Die,” the original film in the franchise earned a respectable $351 million worldwide back in 2018. And since more than two-thirds of that total came from international territories, it’s clear why Sony doesn’t want to take any chances by releasing the film now.

READ MORE: Cannes Says “Nothing Has Changed” As France Enacts Even Stricter Coronavirus Prevention Measures

“Peter Rabbit 2” stars Rose Byrne, Domhnall Gleeson, and David Oyelowo, as well as the vocal talents of James Corden, Margot Robbie, and Elizabeth Debicki. The film is written and directed by Will Gluck, who also served those roles in the first film.

“Peter Rabbit 2” is the second big film of April to pull out of the release schedule. Before then, we still have this Friday’s release of “Bloodshot,” which is Sony’s attempt to launch a new superhero franchise with Vin Diesel in the lead, as well as “A Quiet Place Part 2” on March 20, which is Paramount’s highly anticipated sequel to the horror hit from 2018. Obviously, both of those films are likely too deep into their marketing schedule to even contemplate a move.

Other major films that are coming to theaters around the time “Peter Rabbit 2” was scheduled to hit include “Trolls World Tour” (just moved to take over the weekend vacated by the ‘Bond’ film), “The New Mutants” (Disney looks to be releasing this no matter what), “Mulan” (again, Disney is moving forward no matter what), and “My Spy” (just moved back from March to April, but doesn’t seem to be out of the woods, just yet).

“Peter Rabbit 2” will arrive in theaters on August 7.