Sony Pictures is getting ahead of what looks to be a prolonged storm by shifting several of their films out of their summer and fall slots all the way to next year.
Two affected are Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Marvel’s Morbius, both of which were slated for release this coming July.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife will now open in theaters on March 5, 2021, while Morbius, starring Jared Leto as “The Living Vampire, will now bite into audiences on March 19, 2021.
Another major shift is the video game adaptation of Uncharted, which got bumped from March all the way to October 8, 2021, while the Untilted Sony Marvel project, presumably Venom 2, has been completely pulled from the release schedule.
This is a very bad sign as it’s signaling that the belief by top studio execs is that the effects of the coronavirus will be felt in cinemas through, at the very least, this fall.
It’s important to note that there’s been speculation that, even when the coronavirus is under control, “social distancing” will remain in effect throughout the rest of the year. If true, this would mean limiting theater capacity, which would have an aggressive impact on box office numbers. Would a studio spend tens to hundreds of millions of dollars promoting a film when only 25%-50% of seats can be filled – not to mention the lingering fear by audiences to go into a theater for the unforeseen future?
While Sony is getting ahead of the problem and grabbing 2021 dates, other studios are playing a dangerous game by attempting to weather the storm. This is only the beginning and we’ll just have to wait to see how everything in life continues to unfold…
