It’s been moved back six months already, but Black Widow looks to be on the verge of another delay. Variety has broken the story that Disney is “likely” to push back the MCU movie’s release by a currently undetermined period, following the disappointing results of theaters recently reopening in the US.
The trade has shared that the Mouse House is looking to pull its next two major releases from the schedule. Those would be Black Widow from its November 6th date and Pixar’s Soul from November 27th. In the case of the animated film, the studio may well drop it on Disney Plus. A spokesperson declined to comment on the report, but Variety says their information comes from “multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation.”
Disney’s alleged reshuffling arrives after both Warner Bros. and Universal have also moved back a couple of their next big movies. Wonder Woman 1984 is now due in late December instead of early October, while horror reboot Candyman won’t be arriving until 2021. The world’s next tentpole release, meanwhile, is No Time to Die, which surprisingly appears to be sticking with its November 20th date, given that promotion for it has recently ramped up again.
It’s easy to speculate that the studios’ decision to hold off on releasing these movies is caused by the much-publicized weak box office performance of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. A film that no doubt would have been a smash prior to the pandemic, the WB thriller has only earned roughly $29 million at the domestic market in its first two weeks. A stronger overseas performance has puts its current global total at over $200 million, but it seems that US would-be moviegoers just aren’t ready to return to cinemas yet.
So, at present, we don’t know exactly when Black Widow could land. Maybe Disney will stick with the November plan in the end, but a 2021 arrival is looking increasingly likely at this point.
