We all saw this coming but it’s official: James Bond has delayed his spy game until 2021. No Time To Die, which was slated to open on November 20, 2020, will now open Easter weekend in April of 2021.
Here’s the kicker: This put No Time to Die on the same weekend with Universal’s F9 and soon after No Time To Die made its release date change, “Deadline” reported that Fast 9 was officially on the move to Memorial Day weekend of 2021. The decision comes at a time when the pandemic has gripped, not only New York City theaters (which it’s still unclear when they reopen), and Los Angeles (which could get the go-ahead to open in a couple of weeks). These markets need to be open for the domestic box office to takeoff. Just look at Tenet. It’s doing decent numbers overseas but it’s limping to a current gross of $45.1 million in the states. Other studios can’t risk their tentpoles dying a domestic death when they cost so much to make.
No Time To Die was originally slated to open back in April of this year but became the first major release to shift off its release date due to the global pandemic. The 007 entry appeared to be on track for its November release date but recent weeks so rumors swirling that the Daniel Craig film would be on the move. The news was officially announced on Friday and the film became the latest tentpole release to make 2020 seem like an empty space in terms of high-profile releases.
