No Time to Die

As we go into 2021 and the COVID-19 pandemic is still keeping cinemas closed the next Bond movie No Time To Die movies from April 2nd to October 8th.

With many films having been moved from a 2020 release date to an early 2021, the big potential blockbusters are now moving to late 2021.

There is no surprise in this as the new Bond movie, Daniel Craigs last, is a potential Billion dollar blockbuster.

After multiple moves though there must be questions being asked if a move to VOD is a good option, although recent data suggests that it might not be.

NO TIME TO DIE 8 October 2021 pic.twitter.com/HZlNG5kz8t

— James Bond (@007) January 22, 2021

When Universal delayed the release of the next Bond movie No Time To Die from November 2020 to April 2021 it seems it has had a devastating effect on cinema chains in the UK and US.

Today one of the worlds biggest cinema chains Cinema has announced they will close cinemas in the UK and US from Thursday 8th October until further notice and ODEON cinemas in the UK have announced they will only open at the weekend.

The root of this is the change in release date of No Time To Die which was to be the next blockbuster after the COVID-19 reopening to try and get people back into the habit of going to the movies.

Tenet which was released in late August has now been seen as a test bed for the publics tolerance for going back to cinemas, a public place where social distancing is a challenge, and with the figures coming off the movie it seems it failed the test, the movie has taken so far £25 million in the UK, $40 Million in the US and just over $300 Million globally.

If there is a positive side to this its that a number of smaller independent movies that would normally have been overshadowed by the big blockbusters are being given a chance to shine, and doing better than they would normally, After We Collided being a prime example.

The next 'big' movie to be released is Death On The Nile and Dune, both on December 18th 2020 (thats got to change), also due that day is Coming 2 America starring Eddie Murphy but with no poster, trailer or publicity thats not going to happen!

Then there is Wonder Woman 1984 coming out over Christmas which is massive, and unlike Tenet will do well in cinemas if its given the chance.

With Tenet still at the top of the US box office and no big new releases this weekend it was up to a 27 year old Halloween favourite to cheer up the box office.

Hocus Pocus is the top new movie of the weekend and it wasn't that far from going to the top but Tenet still had the strength to remain at the top.

With the new Bond movie, No Time To Die being delayed until April 2021 there is not a lot in the way of big new movies coming out now in 2020, there is Death On the Nile in mid December and Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas Day so what we see now could be the shape of the box office for a while.

Here is a quick breakdown of this weeks UK box office.

• Number 1 - Tenet (5th Weekend)
• Highest debut - Hocus Pocus (@2)
• Longest run - Ava (10 weeks)
• Highest total gross - Tenet ($45,100,000)

Here is a breakdown of the top 5 movies in the US 2nd - 4th October 2020.

Tenet

Five weeks in and Christopher Nolans movie is still the top film at the box office and this week it takes $2.7 Million, 21% down from last weekend.

The movie has now taken $45.1 Million in total at the US box office and is by far the top grossing movie since cinemas re-opened.

Hocus Pocus

First released in 1993, and not doing that well at the box office, the movie has since become a seasonal favourite and this week re-enters the chart at number 2 with $1.9 Million.

This means that the Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker movie from the Disney company has taken $41.4 Million since its first release.

The New Mutants

The second biggest hit of the post COVID-19 closedown box office is Disney's mutant movie which this week falls to 3 with a $1 Million gross giving it a 6 week total of $20.9 Million, only the second movie to go over $20 Million since the re-opening.

Unhinged

The Russell Crowe movie which was release while cinemas were closed down across most of the US and did well in drive-in theatres this weekend falls to 4 with $870K for a total of $18.4 Million after 8 weeks of release.

Infidel

Falling to 5 this week is Cyrus Nowrasteh's political drama which takes $445K for a $3.4 Million total after 3 weeks of release.

After Bond 25, No Time To Die, steals the release date of Fast And Furious 9 the studio has moved the Vin Diesel movie to a little later in the year, May 28th.

The movie had already been moved from its original release date in 2020 to a year later, April 2nd 2021, then Universal moved No Time To Die to that date and we can't have 2 high profile action movies on the same day.

The only option was to move the car movie, a move which suggests that Universal has more faith in the Bond franchise than the Fast And Furious franchise, despite what the box office figures might suggest, but there we have it, a jiggle around for some high profile movies.

The new release date for F9 is Memorial Day in America and Bonds new release date is over the Easter period in the UK so maybe they are catering for the different markets!

With the move to may 28th it now clashes with Disney's live action Cruella (from the 101 Dalmatian universe) which stars Emma Stone as the title character, so expect that to either move or go to Disney+.

We're sure there are more changes to come so stay tuned for the latest information.

The new Bond movie No Time To Die has been hanging on to its November release date since it originally got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but today it gives in and the release date moves to April 2nd 2021.

Universal, the distribution company for the Bond series released this statement:
"MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of No Time To Die, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2nd April in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience, we understand the delay will be disappointing to our fans but we now look forward to sharing No Time To Die next year."

This is the latest of the big end of year movies to get moved to 2021 and with only a few left including Wonder Woman 1984 and Death On The Nile this is leaving 2020 very empty.

With cinemas struggling to reopen safely and attendance in those that have opened struggling even with only 25 - 50% capacity as evident with Tenet's poor box office figures it is no wonder the movie has been delayed.

Film distributers are starting to realise that 2020 is now basically a write off, but this is clearly having an effect on cinema chains that are struggling to stay in business.

The music video for the theme song by Billie Eillish was only released yesterday so this is perhaps strange timing, although the press for this movie is all over the place as the song hit number 1 on the music chart back in February, a couple of months before the original release date!

This is Daniel Craigs reported last outing as Bond but he's perhaps going to have to hang on a little longer for all the press junkets that will happen in March/April next year.

MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, today announced the release of NO TIME TO DIE, the 25th film in the James Bond series, will be delayed until 2 April 2021 in order to be seen by a worldwide theatrical audience. pic.twitter.com/NqHlU24Ho3

— James Bond (@007) October 2, 2020