Two more of the biggest blockbusters of the year, both due for release in December, have been pulled from the cinema schedule.
While cinemas in Ireland are closed until the start of December, they are actually open in other parts of the world, including China, where a local film - The Eight Hundred - is likely to become the first ever non-U.S. movie to top the annual worldwide box office charts.
Initially, there had been designs for some major blockbusters to still be released in cinemas around the world in November and December, but one by one - from Dune, to No Time To Die, to Black Widow, to Godzilla VS Kong - they have all been pushed further into 2021.
There had still been a couple of hold outs for a December 2020 release, but between the continuing pandemic issues in major cinema markets (like the U.S.), to the okay-but-not-great box office reaction to the release of Tenet earlier this year, two more major blockbusters have been taken completely off the release schedule.
The first is Free Guy, which was due for release on December 11. The action-comedy starred Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer as video game characters who slowly become aware of their own virtual existence. The movie pushed a
big new trailer with the new December release date (it was originally due to arrive in July), but it has now been wiped from the release slate completely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JORN2hkXLyM
The second is Death On The Nile, which was due for release on December 18 (originally October). It is the Kenneth Branagh starring and directing murder mystery follow-up to surprise hit Murder On The Orient Express. The sequel also stars Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Letitia Wright. Disney are releasing both of these movies, and have not provided a new release date for either, but it seems unlikely either one will debut on Disney+, which is what Disney have done with other
pandemic-affected releases.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM1U-Whb-P0
So as it stands, the only blockbuster still scheduled for release for the rest of 2020 is Wonder Woman 1984, currently due to arrive in Irish cinemas on December 26. Director Patty Jenkins has previously stated that the movie will not be going straight to streaming platforms, saying "We are still 100% behind the theatrical experience."
Whether that theatrical experience will happen in December, or further into 2021, we will have to wait and see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW2E2Fnh52w
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