Disneyhas all but put the final nail in the coffin for 2020’s movie lineup, after the company pulled its two remaining titles, planned for December, without yet announcing a new release date. This move leavesWonder Woman 1984as the sole potential blockbuster that has not conceded to COVID-19.
Disneyhad already caught the wave of delays put out by other big studios in late September, opting to reshuffle their entire movie offerings and pushingBlack Widow,EternalsandWest Side Storyfurther into 2021. On the other hand, the company had also shown some willingness to experiment with streaming alternatives for films likeMulanor its latest Pixar movie,Soul, set to drop on Christmas Dayvia Disney+, without any additional charges.
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The two films still standing for 2020 wereRyan Reynolds' video game comedyFree GuyandDeath on the Nile, a direct sequel toMurder on the Orient Expressthat also follows the adventures of Agatha Christie’s favorite detective Hercule Poirot, starring Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer. These two were slated for December 11 and 18, respectively, but will now have to wait for new premieres dates.
With these two out of the picture,Wonder Womanaside, all that remains in the batter’s box are smaller movies likeThe Croods: A New Age, Tom Hanks’News of the Worldandhorror comedy filmFreaky, with the first two coming from Universal Pictures.
Regardless of that, the movie industry has a very clear landscape and plans as long as the pandemic is still in play: If not even Disney, with the immense boost of owning its own streaming platform, is willing to take a cut in the profits they would normally get from big blockbuster films, then no other studio will likely consider doing that. Low budget movies may be released, but only because they were never going to be big earners or merely on the grounds of supporting artists and struggling theaters.
All this leavesWonder Woman 1984on the brinkof a now almost certain rescheduling. As far as audiences go, it’s hard to say whether 2021 might drive moviegoers to theaters more or less than before, but after so many months of big screen withdrawal, the studios' long-term vision might pay out handsomely.
