Black Widow Release Date Likely Delayed Again: Report

US theatres aren’t performing as studios had hoped.

By Akhil Arora | Updated: 16 September 2020 11:25 IST

Black Widow Release Date Likely Delayed Again: Report

Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Scarlett Johansson in and as Black Widow

Highlights

Black Widow release date currently set for November
Wonder Woman 1984 recently moved from Oct to Dec
Pixar’s Soul, also set for Nov, might move to Disney+

Black Widow might not release in November. Disney will likely delay the next Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter for a second time, owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. That comes in the wake of Warner Bros. pushing Wonder Woman 1984 from early October to Christmas, on the back of Christopher Nolan's Tenet not delivering as expected for the studio at the American box office. Tenet has done better globally, but since the US is the single biggest contributor for Hollywood movies, studios — including Disney — are not confident about releasing big blockbuster movies such as Black Widow in theatres during the pandemic.

Variety brings word of Disney looking to delay the Black Widow release date for a second time. In mid-March, as coronavirus swept across the world and quarantine lockdowns were put in effect, Disney delayed Black Widow. Its current November release date was announced a couple of weeks later. This isn't the first we've heard of it though. When Warner Bros. was looking to delay Wonder Woman 1984 to November, Deadline had noted that Black Widow would move from that month. But WW84 instead jumped to Christmas. Disney still wishing to delay Black Widow suggests it's more due to the condition of the US box office.

Disney declined to comment on the potential new development. If Black Widow does end up getting delayed, that would leave the Bond film No Time to Die as the only major movie in November. No Time to Die is set to release November 12 in the UK and November 20 in the US. An exact release date in India has not been set but Universal Pictures is hoping to push No Time to Die in Indian cinemas in November too. Theatres remain shut till September 30, and though the government has yet to publicly discuss their reopening, the industry has been making a considerable push on social media under the hashtag “#UnlockCinemaSaveJobs”.

Additionally, Variety notes that Disney is also exploring options for Pixar's next movie, Soul. It's currently set to open opposite No Time to Die on November 20, but that's unlikely to happen, according to Variety. It will either be delayed or be moved to Disney+, as has been the case for Artemis Fowl, Hamilton, and The One and Only Ivan earlier this year. It's unclear if Pixar's Soul might take the Mulan approach, which involves an additional fee on top of the Disney+ subscription. If that happens, Soul won't be available on Disney+ Hotstar at launch.

There's no word on when Black Widow would move to. And it's unclear what that might mean for the rest of the MCU slate, which has planned for Eternals in February 2021, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in May 2021, Spider-Man 3 in December 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder in February 2022, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in March 2022, Black Panther II in May 2022, and Captain Marvel 2 in July 2022.

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