Concerns about the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) have finally had an impact on movie theaters. As companies like Twitter and Facebook are pulling out of Austin’s South by Southwest annual festival, and major guests and vendors have canceled their attendance at Seattle’s annual Emerald City Comic Con (including DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics), the first major motion picture is getting bumped amid concerns of a predicted decline in movie theater attendance. NBC reports that delaying the release of the eagerly awaited film No Time to Die–said to be the last Daniel Craig stint as James Bond–was due to studio concerns about the virus. Internationally, China, France, Switzerland, Italy, South Korea, and other countries have seen event closings and delays in recent weeks, with the film market already taking a hit in China, South Korea, and Italy.
On Wednesday, the official James Bond 007 social media account posted the following:
MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020.
So the 25th official Bond film that was almost here moves from next month to Thanksgiving weekend. Until then, audiences will have to wait for their next Bond fix–Maybe dream about getting your own Aston Martin as part of an offer in conjunction with the film’s release (below), or a sweater like Daniel Craig wears in the new film.
Check out these features, tie-ins, and trailers for No Time to Die below, including director Cary Joji Fukunaga discussing the film:
Will other studios postpone releases this year because of the outbreak? Only time will tell.
No Time to Die will now roll out in the UK on November 12, 2020, and in the U.S. on November 25, 2020.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg
