Even James Bond isn’t immune to coronavirus, No Time to Die pushed back to November

For those of us looking forward to James Bond #25: No Time To Die in April, we now can thank the coronavirus for the studio’s decision to push back the release to November.

But hey, you can still see Daniel Craig on SNL, even though the movie won’t be out for another seven months.

…the studio worked with “Saturday Night Live” to get James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, to host the comedy sketch show ahead of the film’s original release. Craig will still host this Saturday night, but he’s now promoting a movie that won’t come out for seven months, which is less effective than if the film was coming out next month as intended.

No Time to Die pushed its box office release, but others won’t follow

Just got back from the first of two vacations in Las Vegas and the coronavirus wasn’t big news there. I didn’t learn about this delay until I got home and our oldest son told me about it. The studio’s decision makes sense, especially when we look at box office revenue for the last three James Bond movies.

James Bond #22 Quantum of Solace 71.4% of box office sales came internationally

James Bond #23 Skyfall: 72.5% came from international box office sales

James Bond #24 Spectre: 77.3% of box office sales were international

With many theaters in China currently closed, the studio can’t afford to have its major tentpole movie open only in the United States, especially if the reviews are poor. If the film receives positive press, it probably wouldn’t hurt, but the studio doesn’t want to gamble on a film with a budget over $200 million, especially when the last one saw a modest drop from the film before (Skyfall).

The CNBC article goes into more hypotheticals about other major movies delaying their release dates. Why it is downplaying that possibility, it’s reasonable to assume that more will push their dates back.

If that happens, what movies will be left to open? Could provide some smaller budget and indie films longer opportunities in the theaters to leg out. Keep your eyes on the following bigger anticipated movies and their current wide release dates (very subject to change in our current environment):

• Mulan – March 27 (Disney)
• No Time To Die – April 10 moved to November 25, 2020 (United Artists / EON)
• Black Widow – May 5 (Disney / Marvel)
• F9: The Fast Saga – May 22 (Universal)
• Wonder Woman 1984 – June 5 (Warner Bros.)

How many of these listed above will change is unknown, but if you’re looking forward to some of them coming out in the near future, might want to temper those expectations. At least until the lab wizards develop a coronavirus vaccine or until flu season passes.