Disney Movie Releases Updated

 by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 24, 2021

 

Disney has announced updates to its movie release schedule, including the next Marvel Studios’ release Black Widow.

 

Black Widow will be released in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access (that is, at an extra cost of $29.99 beyond the Disney+ monthly subscription fee) on Friday, July 9. It was formerly scheduled for May 7.

Cruella will use the same combination of theater release and Disney+ Premier Access on May 28. The release date for this film, though, has not changed.

 

Meanwhile, Disney and Pixar’s Luca will stream (at no extra cost) exclusively on Disney+ starting on Friday, June 18. Previously, it was set for a theatrical release on that date.

 

Other new release dates are Free Guy on August 13, 2021 (previously May 21); Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on September 3, 2021 (previously July 9); The King’s Man on December 22, 2021 (previously August 20); Deep Water on January 14, 2022 (previously August 13); and Death on the Nile on February 11, 2022 (previously September 17).

 

Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said, “Today’s announcement reflects our focus on providing consumer choice and serving the evolving preferences of audiences. By leveraging a flexible distribution strategy in a dynamic marketplace that is beginning to recover from the global pandemic, we will continue to employ the best options to deliver The Walt Disney Company’s unparalleled storytelling to fans and families around the world.”

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the  Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating has two new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

Please support the efforts of DisneyBizJournal.com to bring news, analysis and commentary on Disney to readers such as yourself. Make a contribution right here via PayPal. Thanks!

AMC Theaters Reopening Still Delayed

by Beth Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 23, 2020

We were driving home past our local movie theater last night, having been to one of the pop-up drive-in movies that have started filling the landscape near us, and started to wonder: Are the regular theaters ever really going to reopen?

Don’t get me wrong. The pop-up drive-ins are a novelty, and a welcome diversion in our neighborhood, where the COVID-19 infection rates have finally declined. After nearly four months of being in lock-down in our own houses, leaving only for groceries or pharmacy, we are easily amused these days, even spending $25 to drive up to a 50-foot screen to watch a movie THAT WE ALREADY OWN AT HOME from our car. Suddenly, the privilege of eating cooled down microwave popcorn and sweating in the front seat of our own vehicle seems like great fun.

So, when is the current projected reopening for local theaters? That all depends. With COVID-19 rates skyrocketing in some areas, theater owners are hesitant to give a projected date to bring up the curtains at their complexes. Opening dates seem to be a bit of a moving target these days, with several chains changing their debuts a number of times already.

One of the theater chains modifying their reopening dates is AMC, which was originally set to begin phased, limited attendance reopenings July 15, then amended to July 30^th. But according to Deadline, AMC has now pushed back their viewings to mid-to-late August. (A third of all AMC cinemas in Europe and the Middle East are already open.) Cineplex, another of the four biggest movie chains in the U.S. and Canada, began reopening some theaters in Canada, while over on the Regal website, they offer “Announcement of New Reopening Date Coming Soon.” On June 30^th, Cinemark updated its phased reopening timeline to July 24, but has already opened four theaters in Texas and one at Universal Citywalk prior to that date.

Much to the frustration of chain owners, the timing of reopening is, in many respects, out of their control. Governors with phased re-openings, studios with changing film release dates, and a wary public that is skeptical of donning masks to sit through a newly released film have made it difficult to justify opening their doors. Profit margins for theater owners are notoriously thin to start out with, with most theaters making their money on packing the house for blockbusters and selling supersized soft drinks and overpriced popcorn. Opening to low capacity crowds might be just as financially devastating as not opening for the time being.

Among the anticipated tentpole movies that were thought to be kicking off cinema’s return were Disney’s live-action Mulan, whose date has been pushed back a handful of times already, and which currently has an anticipated August 21^st date. Black Widow, one of Disney’s Marvel creations and a prequel to Avengers: Endgame, has been moved to November 6 from its original May 2020 release date. Christopher Nolan’s/Warner Brothers Tenet, expected to be a big box office draw, has been pushed back as well, and according to Deadline, will not have a single day release, but rather will open in stages, opening first in theaters already functioning overseas, and then move to theaters in states that are “open” and cleared for guests to attend movies.  

The Personal History of David Copperfield (directed by Armando Iannucci, with Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie), a Disney Searchlight Pictures film, has already opened in the U.K. to great reviews, and was set to open in the U.S. in May 2020, but has been pushed to August 14^th. The New Mutants, an offering in the X-Men franchise, directed by Josh Boone under 20^th Century Studios, was due out in April 2020, but has been set now for August 28^th. Ralph Fiennes’ The King’s Man, also a Disney 20^th Century Studios film and part of the Kingsman franchise, kicks off September 18. And in perhaps the biggest push back, Jungle Cruise, loosely based on the Disney theme park ride and starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson, was moved from Summer 2020 to July 30, 2021 – as in Summer 2021- in the reshuffles. Perchance it can compete with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, originally rumored to release in 2020, but now listed as a “TBD” date.

For now, maybe we should consider all of the grand opening dates tentative at best.

As for us, I believe Raiders of the Lost Ark is up next for pop-up drive-in viewing.

__________

Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.