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No ‘Black Widow’ or ‘F9’ leaves a muted summer movie season
LOS ANGELES — The six-year fan campaign for a standalone Black Widow movie was paying off: at long last, a film would put Scarlett Johansson’s popular Avenger front and centre. And, like many of Marvel’s biggest spectacles, it was set to open the weekend of May 1.
“Black Widow” was to kick off what promised to be a typically lucrative summer moviegoing season, which runs Memorial Day through Labor Day and generally accounts for $4 billion, nearly 40% of the yearly North American box office. And there was a lot more to look forward to: Tom Cruise’s return to one of his most iconic roles, a “Wonder Woman” sequel, original fare from Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson and more. Then the unthinkable happened.
Now modern Hollywood is faced with a gutted summer season that at the very earliest will kick off months late — and even that is changing by the minute. On Monday, Judd Apatow’s Pete Davidson movie “The King of Staten Island” switched to a June 12 home video release, following in the path of Disney’s “Artemis Fowl,” out on Disney Plus June 12, and Warner Bros.’ “Scoob!” available May 15.
A few states are talking about allowing movie theatres to reopen soon — Texas as early as Friday. But no major blockbusters are set to open until mid-July. The first is Christopher Nolan’s thriller “Tenet,” a Warner Bros. film, which has ardently stood its ground on July 17. Shortly after, Disney plans to open “Mulan” on July 24, four months after its original date. And then comes “Wonder Woman 1984” on Aug. 14, two months later than planned. It’s something, but it’s still a shell of what summer 2020 at the movies was supposed to be.