UPDATE: After publishing, Deadline revealed that ‘WW84’ is now set for a Christmas, with “Dune” staying on its December 18 release date. Yes, that means, WB will have two blockbusters releasing a week apart. Wow.
The original story follows…
After speculation, rumors, and then early reports, it appears that “Wonder Woman 1984” is actually getting delayed. But we still don’t have any idea when it will arrive in theaters.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the outlet spoke with someone with knowledge of Warner Bros.’ plans for the film’s release and confirmed that WB is moving ‘WW84’ from its original October 2 debut to “a date later in the year.” This confirms the earlier report from Deadline that said the film would likely eye a November or December release.
The news comes as more analysts look at the mild debut from “Tenet” and realize that maybe WB shot itself in the foot by rushing Christopher Nolan’s film into theaters without the business being able to fully support a blockbuster film in a meaningful way. As we’ve seen, even when theater chains (approximately 70% of cinemas in the US are open, with more opening weekly) are mostly available for screenings, the capacity restrictions and social distancing requirements make it almost impossible for a $200 million film to recoup its money as would normally be expected.
It’s clear that WB is concerned that “Wonder Woman 1984” would crowd the market too much and be catastrophic for both it and “Tenet,” with the latter basically requiring more than a month (probably more than two months) of unopposed dominance to come close to earning its money back. So, naturally, the question remains—where will “Wonder Woman 1984” land?
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The obvious spot is December 18, where WB’s own “Dune” currently sits. The studio could just remove “Dune” and replace it with the ‘Wonder Woman’ sequel, allowing for the film to dominate the Christmas season and early winter. Of course, there’s also the other option of early-November, where “Black Widow” currently sits. Speculation abounds that Disney is going to move “Black Widow” (or perhaps try something equally nuts, like the studio did with “Mulan”) to a later date. If that happens, suddenly there’s a gap that ‘WW84’ could occupy. Of course, then, it would have to compete with the likes of “No Time To Die” a couple of weeks later. And let’s be real, it’s highly unlikely that November is going to be drastically better in terms of the pandemic and theaters likely won’t be able to support “Tenet,” whatever other smaller films are released in October, and then “Wonder Woman 1984” plus “No Time to Die.”
Hell, that would have been a disaster for any theater at full strength, let alone still in recovery mode. Alas, all we know is that WB is delaying ‘WW84.’ We don’t know the obvious next step. At least, at this moment.