Ahhhhhh, Mr. Delay, I’ve been expecting you.
Perhaps the most obvious and unexpected news about the new James Bond flick, No Time To Die, has been announced. It has been delayed… again. Originally set to have been released in November of 2019, but it was pushed back to February 2020, before being delayed once more until April 2020. Then, well… the world went a little crazy as the whole coronavirus pandemic took over.
So, No Time To Die was delayed again for the third time to November 2020. Then more recently, it has been delayed… again, again until April 2021. For those counting, that’s over a whole year of delays from its initial November 2019 release until its (supposed) April 2021 date. Now, it was originally said that the first round of delays from 2019 to 2020 were due to original director, Danny Boyle leaving the project. Then producers claimed the delay from April 2020 to November of the same year wasn’t due to the whole covid-19 thing, but because traditionally, Bond films had been released in November since GoldenEye in 1995. I checked, it’s kind of true as the films have been released October – December time. But that reason can’t wash now with a delay from November 2020 to April 2021 can it? No, I think it’s pretty clear the delay now is more certainly due to this pandemic and it’s effects on the economy.
Anyway, the point I want to make is… the film is done, its ready to be released and has been for months now. Delaying again is pointless because the virus isn’t going anywhere and will most definitely still be around come April 2021. Studios can’t keep delaying films and the cinema, as a business, just had to crack on with it. No Time To Die is just one of many that have been delayed. We were supposed to have gotten the new Ghostbusters Afterlife film this summer too, but that has been delayed until 2021 now. Wonder Woman 1984, Black Widow and many more have been delayed. And the thing is that new films are being made as we speak… so where will they fit into the release schedule if all these other films are being delayed and taking up screen time? There will be a major problem with future release dates.
Releasing a film digitally on streaming services has got to be a better option than just delaying indefinitely. Or even better, release both in the cinema and digitally, then let the audience decide which they would prefer. Disney released their Mulan remake digitally and their streaming service instead of delaying and Disney had a 68% increase in Disney+ downloads. It’s not know exactly how much Mulan has made, but it made a lot more then the nothing if it hadn’t been released on Disney+. The new Bill & Ted flick, Bill & Ted Face the Music did both a cinema release and a digital rental service, and it became the top rented film on demand where made $32 million (and still counting) just from the U.S. alone via a digital release in two weeks. Currently, No Time To Die is making a grand profit of nothing, where as it could be making some money from both a cinematic and digital release. Either that or they just wait it out until April 2021 and when coronavirus proves to still be very much with us and people are still weary about going to the cinema, delay yet it again?
Delaying all these films will have a serious knock on effect with cinemas in the long run. One of the UK’s biggest cinema chains is already close to closing due to having no films to show. Having some money coming in has got to be better than no money at all, right? If studios keep delaying films like this, there won’t be any cinemas to show them in the very near future. Then what? The only outlet film stuidos will have is digital, which is exactly what they’re trying to avoid, the irony…
Honestly, by the time No Time to Die is released, they would’ve already cast Idris Elba as the next 007, no one will remember who Billie Eilish was or her song, the excitement over the film would’ve died down and there won’t be any cinemas to show it. Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, just release the damn film already. Making some money from partial cinema sales and a digital release has got to be better than nothing. Let fans see Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond before we all get bored of waiting and before the cinema industry is destroyed. As I wrote on Twitter back in September when the delay to November was first announced…
Cinema’s biggest hero, James Bond, is going to kill off cinemas. I’m willing to bet any amount of money that No Time to Die won’t be released in April, 2021.
Little Bits of Gaming & Movies 
It’s certainly a double edged sword, hedge your bets and hope its burnt through the population enough to safely open cinemas again in April or release now and get a fraction of the income. Not enviable. Is a bit weird Tenet released as it did, with all the pushed back movies until 2021 it will probably be the only film up for Oscar contentions next year as the only film of note released this year.
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Indeed.
That really is the issue isn’t it? The studios don’t want to release any big films because the box office just isn’t there. But people are not going to the cinema (partly) because there are no big films being released.
It’s a circle that just won’t end.
I really don’t think this virus is going anywhere for a good while yet. Even when April 2021 does arrive, I bet there we will still be living with with the pandemic and the restrictions to cinemas (and everything else) will still be in place. Then what, more delays?
I honestly think that studios just need to bite the bullet and release their films sooner rather than later. As I say in the article, release both in the cinema and on streaming services, at least the audience can decide where to watch and there will be some money coming in, cos some money has got to be better then none.
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