Disney has officially pulled their 20th Century Studios' moviesFree GuyandDeath on the Nilefrom there 2020 release schedule. Both movies were supposed to open in December. Disney has not yet announced new release dates for either movie, though new dates could be announced in the coming weeks. As it stands, Warner Bros. is holding strong withWonder Woman 1984, which is still on schedule to open on Christmas Day. As to whether or not that will still happen is anybody’s guess at the moment.
It seems that a 2021 release date announcement forWonder Woman 1984is imminent. Seeing bothFree GuyandDeath on the Nileget shuffled out of 2020 is not a big surprise, though it will likely still be a blow to theaters who are currently struggling to keep their doors open without any new material. With that being said, theaters across Europe have already shut down for a second time, and many are under the assumption that the same will happen in North America shortly.
New York and Los Angeles, two of the biggest markets for moviegoing, have yet to open theirmovie theaters, which have been shut down since March. Warner Bros. put out Christopher Nolan’sTenet, which was barely able to make $350 million globally. Only $53 million of that total came from domestic ticket sales. Even with a movie as big as Ryan Reynolds’Free Guy, people were not going to be flocking to theaters to go see it. Cases are currently spiking all over the United States and people are getting ready for a long winter.
Free Guy, which also stars Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi, and Camille Kostek, was supposed to open on December 11th. Before that, the movie was supposed to open on July 3rd. The studio decided that waiting to release the movie would be the best bet, which is something that nearly all studios have done, though some stopped the constant delays and went straight to 2021. Even with new movies coming out next year, there is no guarantee that theaters will be able to open, or if they’ll even make it without some financial backing from congress.
Death on the Nileis the follow-up to Kenneth Branagh’s hitThe Murder on the Orient Express. The movie stars Branagh asdetective Hercule Poirot, who is investigating a murder aboard a cruise ship that is sailing on the Nile River. In addition to Branagh, the movie stars Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, and Russell Brand. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see whatDisneydecides to do withDeath on the NileandFree Guy. With that being said, it does not seem that the studio is going to skip theaters for either movie.
