No Time To Die’s release could be pushed back even further, after the James Bond film was delayed by seven months due to coronavirus.
Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 was scheduled for release on 2 April, but in March, it was decided that its release date would be pushed back to November, to account for the closure of cinemas worldwide.
However, those hoping to have their bums in seats in November could be left waiting, as it has been claimed No Time To Die could end up with a 2021 release.
A source told Baz Bamigboye for his Daily Mail newspaper column: ‘If it has to wait till next year so be it. There are hundreds of millions of dollars involved here. Release it when audiences feel safe to return. But it’s a nerve-wracking call.’
However, a 2021 release date may be tricky to come by, with blockbusters that have also been shifted back taking up most of the plum weekends.
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Movies pushed back to 2021 from original 2020 dates include Marvel’s Eternals, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Morbius, F9 – the latest Fast and Furious film – and Jungle Cruise, while A Quiet Place II, Spiral and The New Mutants may also be released next year.
(Credits: REX)
But even if No Time To Die does stick to its November premiere, it’s going to have to deal with a major chunk of its screens being taken away.
Odeon and Cineworld are boycotting Universal and refusing to show any of their films in a row over Trolls: World Tour.
Universal granted the likes of Sky and Apple TV to stream the kids’ movie after being intended for cinema release, and due to its success, they said they would be releasing films on both formats (streaming and cinema) even when theatres re-open.
Chief executive of AMC (Odeon’s owner) Adam Aron fired back: ‘With this proposal to go to homes and theatres simultaneously Universal is breaking the business model and dealings between our companies.
‘AMC will not license any of your movies in any of our 1,000 theatres globally on these terms.’
This boycott will extend to No Time To Die, which is produced by Universal.
Cineworld also joined the boycott over the alleged agreement breach.
No Time To Die will star Daniel Craig as James Bond for the last time, and also stars Rami Malek, Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Christoph Waltz and Ben Whishaw.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Universal for comment.
No Time To Die is set for release on 12 November.
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