Comedic catcher Yogi Berra was famous for Yogi-isms like, “It’s deja vu all over again” — totally fits the situation with theatrical release dates since March 2020.
To be fair, there have always been film postponements and release dates moving around, but it’s been a month by month, at times week by week changefest. Studios are frantically trying to figure out just when to screen their movies in reopened theaters with receptive audiences.
We’re no help in Washington State, with all our theaters closed as of this writing and not reopening for at least another week, but probably longer. Over 65% of domestic theaters are closed as of this writing.
With that said, we could be approaching another batch of delays, including some high profile movies like Bond #25, No Time To Die, which with so many delays already might as well be retitled, No Time To Screen.
Even in traditional times, the stretch between January and March is kind of a cinematic dumping ground. So it’s not entirely unexpected that the current release calendar doesn’t pick up in a meaningful way until May, with the debuts of Disney and Marvel’s “Black Widow” (May 7), Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla vs Kong” (May 21), Ryan Reynolds’ “Free Guy” from 20th Century Studios (May 21), Paramount’s “Infinite” starring Mark Wahlberg (May 28), Disney’s “Cruella” with Emma Stone (May 28) and Universal’s “F9” (May 28). But many of these titles are expected to shift as well if conditions don’t drastically improve in the next month or so.
Hollywood Prepares to Delay Another Slew of Blockbusters – Variety
Looking into the first quarter crystal ball, six movies were supposed to be released in January, with 19 more over the next two months (9 in February and 10 in March 2021). Just a guess, but we’ll be lucky to see half of these movies released as currently scheduled. Maybe only a quarter of them stay the course.
The silver lining, if there is any, would be that streaming is alive and kicking more than ever before offering plenty of new movies to view across the various streaming channels. When we do come out of this pandemic, hopefully with everybody reading right now safe and secure, we’ll be ready to see new movies in theaters again. Will be somewhat like we’ve missed a long lost friend.
Back to what we started with: Yogi-isms. Here’s a few more just … because:
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
‘It’s deja vu all over again’: 27 of Yogi Berra’s most memorable ‘Yogi-isms’
You can observe a lot by watching.
Nobody goes there any more. It’s too crowded.
Never answer an anonymous letter.
It gets late early out here.
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
I never said most of the things I said.
Which is your favorite?
Movies, Movies, Movies 