‘No Time to Die’ Delayed Again

MGM has just pushed back No Time to Die to next year.

 

The new installment in the James Bond franchise, starring Daniel Craig, is now set for an April 2, 2021 release date, exactly one year after its initial release date. The filmmakers have confirmed this in a statement:

 

“MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of No Time To Die, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. We understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year.”

 

This represents a big surprise and a major disappointment for exhibitors all around the globe, who after the delay of Marvel’s Black Widow and WB’s Wonder Woman 1984, were counting on the new Bond to survive. This is yet another delay in the aftermath of the underperformance of Tenet, which still managed to make almost $250 million in international markets (and is still going). Given the fact that Bond movies tend to make most of their box office dollars internationally, experts were counting on the movie to stay put.

 

As a reference point, Spectre made 77.3% of its money internationally, and Skyfall, 72.5%. Respectively, it was $680 million and $800 million. The only tentpole left for movie theaters to show before December is Pixar’s Soul, which Disney still intends to release theatrically, although there were many reports prior to Black Widow‘s delay saying they were considering the Premium Access on Disney+ route. The silver lining here is that, back in August, many people speculated The New Mutants was moving to Disney+, but the studio asserted they were intending to release it in theaters, as they did. Let’s hope they do the same now, for the sake of theaters all over the planet.

 

Interestingly enough, April 2, 2021, is also the day in which Universal has dated Fast 9 for its theatrical debut, which makes me wonder if MGM knows something we don’t, or if they are using it as a strategy. Without any knowledge of the situation or what they are thinking, I don’t think this is the smartest move they’ve done, and even though 2021 is a very packed year as of today, with the number of blockbusters slated to come out equal to two years’ worth, I still believe there are some holes in the calendar they could have filled up.