With the current state of the world, the coronavirus pandemic does not seem to be going away any time soon. Movie productions and theatres are all closed, and tentpole films have been shifted – some a few months, some indefinitely – to contain the spread of the deadly virus. And the destruction of the unseen enemy does not seem to be slowing down. Currently, according to latest reports by WHO, there are 10,902,637 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (as of 4 July).
Along with delays, many movies have opted for online release (or early digital release), including Artemis Fowl, Trolls: World Tour, You Should Have Left, Scoob!, Endings, Beginnings, The Lovebirds, The Hunt, The Invisible Man, Greyhound and others.
| Movie | Previous Release Date | New Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| A Quiet Place Part II | March 8, 2020 | September 4, 2020 |
| Antebellum | April 24, 2020 | August 20, 2020 |
| Bios | October 2, 2020 | April 16, 2021 |
| Black Widow | May 11, 2020 | November 6, 2020. |
| Candyman | June 12, 2020 | September 25, 2020 |
| Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | May 7, 2021 | March 25, 2022 |
| Dungeons & Dragons | November 19, 2021 | May 27, 2022 |
| Elvis Presley biopic | October 1, 2021 | November 5, 2021 |
| Escape Room 2 | August 14, 2020 | January 1, 2021 |
| F9 | May 22, 2020 | April 2, 2021 |
| Ghostbusters: Afterlife | July 10, 2020 | March 5, 2021 |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | November 20, 2020 | May 21, 2021 |
| Greenland | July 31, 2020 | August 14, 2020 |
| Jungle Cruise | July 24, 2020 | July 30, 2021 |
| King Richards | November 21, 2020 | November 25, 2021 |
| Last Night in Soho | September 25, 2020 | April 23, 2021 |
| Minions: Rise of Gru | July 3, 2020 | July 2, 2021 |
| Mission: Impossible 7 | July 23, 2021 | November 19, 2021 |
| Mission: Impossible 8 | August 5, 2022 | November 4, 2022 |
| Morbius | July 31, 2020 | March 19, 2021 |
| Mulan | March 27, 2020 | August 21, 2020 |
| No Time to Die | April 10, 2020 | November 20, 2020 |
| Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway | August 7, 2020 | January 15, 2021 |
| Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | February 21, 2021 | May 7, 2021 |
| Shazam! 2 | April 1, 2022 | November 4, 2022 |
| Soul | June 19, 2020 | November 20, 2020 |
| Spiral: From the Book of Saw | May 15, 2020 | May 20, 2021 |
| Tenet | July 17, 2020 | August 12, 2020 |
| The Batman | June 25, 2021 | October 1, 2021 |
| The Eternals | November 6, 2020 | February 12, 2021 |
| The Flash | July 1, 2022 | June 3, 2022 |
| The French Dispatch | July 24, 2020 | October 16, 2020 |
| The Matrix 4 | May 21, 2021 | April 1, 2022 |
| The New Mutants | April 3, 2020 | August 28, 2020 |
| The Nightingale | December 25, 2020 | December 22, 2021 |
| Thor: Love and Thunder | November 5, 2021 | February 18, 2022 |
| Tom & Jerry | December 23, 2020 | March 5, 2021 |
| Top Gun: Maverick | June 24, 2020 | December 23, 2020 |
| Uncharted | March 5, 2021 | August 8, 2021 |
| Unhinged | July 1, 2020 | July 10, 2020 |
| Untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home Sequel | July 16, 2021 | November 5, 2021 |
| Untitled Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Sequel | April 8, 2022 | October 7, 2022. |
| Venom: Let There Be Carnage | October 2, 2020 | June 25, 2021 |
On top of delays, there are few movies that are yet to receive a release date, as of now. These include: Antlers, The Forever Purge, The Artist’s Wife, The Climb, Deerskin, Malignant, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Praise This, Run.
However, most theatres around the world are yet to fully go into business. Here is a list of countries and when they will potentially start opening theatres (tentative dates) or have already opened up theatres:
United States: Theatres are reopening on a state-by-state basis. Georgia theatres decided to open their doors from April 27, while Texas joined them from May 1. California started from June 12.
UK: England has decided to get into the theatre business from July 4, while Scotland’s starting from July 15. Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to come to a decision.
South Korea: April 29.
Spain: Theatres started opening up from May 25 – June 8. However, any plan have to be approved by the particular province.
Russia: July 15.
Portugal: June 1.
Italy: June 15 (limited to 200 people).
Hong Kong: May 8.
Germany: May 15 – June 30.
France; June 22.
China: TBA.
Apart from these titles, Bollywood has also not been simply sitting back. A host of movies are releasing directly to Disney+ Hotstar including Laxxmi Bomb, Sadak 2, Bhuj: The Pride of India, The Big Bull, Dil Bechara, Lootcase and Khuda Haafiz. A host of other movies have also already received their OTT releases, including Gulabo Sitabo, Penguin and Sufiyum Sujatayum.
