As Studios Push Early 2021 Film Releases, Are Hopes for Box Office Recovery Dashed?
The coronavirus pandemic decimated the box office for 2020 — and now it’s looking to take a bite out of the first quarter (at least) of 2021 as well. With infections, hospitalizations and deaths on the rise in the U.S. and much of Europe — and a vaccine months away from approval and widespread distribution — Hollywood studios and movie theaters are bracing for further delays in the release of major films. On Monday, Universal pushed back its female-led spy thriller “The 355” from January 2021 to January 2022. That follows a bunch of recent postponements for films that had hoped to open early next year: Sony pushed “Peter Rabbit 2,” already delayed from April 2020 to January 2021, to a new date three months later. And Universal shifted the Jennifer Lopez rom-com “Marry Me” from Valentine’s weekend to May 2021. Studios are in a bind: Do they continue to stockpile films (and push off any revenues) — or release them to potentially lower profits via either streaming services or limited-capacity theaters (where that’s even an option). They must also factor in the disappointing returns for two megabudget studio releases this fall: Disney’s “Mulan,” released as a premium offering on...
Read original story As Studios Push Early 2021 Film Releases, Are Hopes for Box Office Recovery Dashed? At TheWrap
