As the pandemic’s stranglehold continues, many Hollywood films have shifted to 2021; Bollywood to wait and watch
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 9, 2020)

Thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, the ‘filmy drama’ seems to have swiftly shifted off screen, vis-à-vis constantly changing release dates and makers’ digital plans. Early this week, it was announced that the epic adventure, Mulan – after getting several theatrical release dates – would go the OTT way, from September 4. Janelle Monáe-starrer horror film, Antebellum, too is taking the digital route. Interestingly, besides jumping on the web space, a number of Hollywood biggies won’t have a date with cinemas this year as they shift bag and baggage to 2021.

For starters, Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun: Maverick has been pushed to next July, while A Quiet Place Part II, starring Emily Blunt, will be out in April. Antlers has moved to February, while Ben Affleck-Matt Damon starrer The Last Duel has moved to October. Johnny Knoxville-starrer Jackass 4 has taken the September 2021 date, even as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch has been pulled off the release calendar. Action thriller Fast And Furious 9 had already rescheduled to April 2021, besides Jared Leto’s Morbius, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife that had also moved to next year. The Scarlett Johansson-starrer Black Widow, though, still sticks to its November release date.

“It’s true that a number of tent-pole Hollywood films have moved to 2021 but having said that, a biggie like Tenet is slated to release later this month. I feel if Tenet – as expected – goes on to perform well everywhere, we may see some more activities in the coming months and other films could follow suit between October-December,” says Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO, Reliance Entertainment.

In India, most of the ready films have already moved to OTT platforms, with only Sooryavanshi and ’83 lined up for a release on Diwali and Christmas, respectively.

“We wouldn’t like to move the release dates again. But the teams (of both films) will review the situation, maybe around next month,” says Sarkar, whose studio is backing both Sooryavanshi and ’83. Other films such as Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Coolie No. 1, Bunty Aur Babli 2 and Mumbai Saga may hit the theatres this year.

“I believe that in another month or so, people’s fears/paranoia about Covid-19 will dissipate and they may like to visit theatres. The cinema-going people’s response in countries such as South Korea, Japan and China gives us confidence that audiences will come back to theatres,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi.

At the end, trade analyst Taran Adarsh puts things in perspective. “No one has any clarity about the situation, so you can’t really blame the makers if they are moving to next year. And no clarity vis-à-vis when theatres will reopen is also making things worse. Plus, you don’t know whether people will turn up. So, there are too many question marks,” he says.
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Biggies feel the Covid impact

Not just release dates, the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow to several Hollywood biggies’ production plans as well. To start with, the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel has been pushed to December 17, 2021. Also, the upcoming Star Wars and Avatar movies have been delayed by a year. So, the first Avatar sequel will only be out in December, 2022. Also, the shoot of much-talked-about Friends reunion episode, which was originally slated to be shot in March, has been delayed. “It’s a wait-and-watch situation everywhere. It’s all about people’s survival now. I don’t think many people across the world have entertainment on their priority list,” says Adarsh.