Some theaters in some states are confident they’ll be open by July, but major metropolitan areas are likely to remain locked down. That’s not good enough for the behemoth movies with the biggest appeal—and highest budgets to earn back.
One executive whose studio moved most of their films to next year expressed relief. “It seemed drastic at the time but I’m happy they’re on a future horizon,” he said. “For any of the big tentpoles that cost a fortune and need to make even more, all of us need full moviegoing potential back—not partial capacities. It’s so hard to know when that happens, but I think we are still pretty far out from that.”
Here’s What’s Coming
The Forever Purge is slated for July 10, but there is skepticism Universal will put it out as planned. Nolan’s Tenet is still attached to that original July 17 debut, and Disney’s live-action Mulan is aiming for July 24, four months after it abandoned its March debut just two weeks before opening.
Wonder Woman 1984 is supposed to drop August 10 along with a new adaptation of the children’s classic The Secret Garden. Then August 21 will bring the Janelle Monáe horror-thriller Antebellum, and the Keanu Reeves/Alex Winter reunion in Bill & Ted Face the Music.
As the big films consider leaving summer altogether, smaller movies are moving in to fill the void. Upstart indie company Solstice Studios decided this week that its first film—the Russell Crowe road-rage thriller Unhinged—could benefit from being the first movie released in theaters since the coronavirus pandemic darkened screens. It has moved up from Sept. 4 to July 1.
“We are the canary in the coal mine,” Mark Gill, president and CEO of Solstice, said in an interview. “On the other hand, there are some positives to it as well. We’re not going to have trouble getting screens. We’re not competing with any other movies in theaters. We’re basically not competing with any other out-of-home activity except, in Los Angeles, [where] you can go run on the beach, but not sit down.”
Within hours of Tuesday's announcement about Unhinged’s new date, Los Angeles County’s public health director announced the stay at home order would likely remain in place until the end of July, taking one of the country’s major moviegoing locations off the table.
“It’s not going to be perfect. I think the chances of New York City being open are exceedingly low. L.A. probably won’t be open,” Gill said, reacting to the news. “Maybe San Francisco or downtown Chicago won’t be open. But most states, and many suburbs and smaller towns, it’s looking like they will be.”
Unhinged has the advantage of only costing $33 million to make, he added, compared to the estimated $205 million of Nolan’s Tenet. “If we earn $30 million at the box office, that’s fine for us. We’ve done well,” Gill said. “For the big movies, they’d not be happy. I’m really glad I don’t have to make those decisions that involve those big numbers. That’s terrifying.”
Another small-budget movie aiming for a 1,000-screen debut on Aug. 14 is Fatima, a $15 million religious drama about Portuguese shepherd children who had a miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary in 1917. It's being released by Picturehouse, the same studio that turned The Passion of the Christ into an unexpected blockbuster. "Really for me, the summer release was about trying to get in before what I assume is going to be a super-crowded fall. I mean, hopefully," said Picturehouse co-head Bob Berney. "By August, I thought there’d be enough comfort in people going back, but yet it’s a time when an indie, especially one going wider, could actually grab a substantial audience."
"Hollywood" - Google News
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Hollywood's Life or Death or Summer - Vanity Fair
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