Warner Bros. has delayed the release of Wonder Woman 1984 until Christmas. The superhero sequel starring Gal Gadot was set to be released on October 2 but will now arrive in theaters on December 25. According to Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairman, “We’re very proud of the film and look forward to bringing it to audiences for the holidays.”
Director Patty Jenkins added that she hoped fans wouldn’t mind the delay since she wanted people to be able to experience the film on the big screen. Warner Bros. recently released Tenet in theaters over Labor Day weekend, the first big-budget film to debut in theaters since March. The film brought in $20 million and was reportedly used as a gauge to determine whether Wonder Woman 1984 should also be released.
For now, Tenet won’t see much competition at the box office. Disney and Marvel’s Black Widow is not slated for release until November 6 and Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune is not expected to arrive in theaters until December 18, a week before Wonder Woman 1984. Some sources, however, believe Dune might be delayed until 2021 so it doesn’t coincide with other blockbusters.
An estimated 70% of movie theaters in the United States have reopened, but major markets like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are still closed. Box office analysts believe it may be too risky to release big-budget films until those cities can screen films. The first Wonder Woman, released in 2017, netted more than $400 million in North America, a figure that would be hard to approximate unless big cities were showing the film.
The delay of Wonder Woman 1984, which was completed last December, is not surprising since Warner Bros. barely promoted the film prior to its October release date. The movie, which cost an estimated $180 million to produce, needs to succeed for the studio to recoup its investment. In addition, Jenkins had announced that she was working on a third film in the series, which she will produce but not direct.
Source: Variety
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