Will there be summer 2020 movies? Sony says no.
The studio has moved its four big releases to 2021 and who knows when. That list includes “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “Peter Rabbit 2,” “Morbius,” and “Greyhound.”
This is a blow to movie theater owners who were hopeful that when the virus quarantines end, they’ll have product to lure back customers. “Ghostbusters” would have been a colossal summer hit. Now it’s set for March 2021.
Sony’s move checks Warner’s and Paramount. Those studios were looking forward to Warner’s Christopher Nolan’s mysterious “Tenet” starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Michael Caine; and “Wonder Woman 84,” with Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. And Paramount is on deck with “Top Gun: Maverick,” which literally will save them. The other big summer movie coming in June is “Soul,” from Pixar, with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey leading an all star cast of voices.
If one or more of those four are relocated, the summer movie season may be over. And then what? The fall season depends on film festivals– Telluride, Venice, Toronto. Venice is already looking imperiled. With so many deaths in Italy, would they really proceed? Would they be allowed to by the government? But then the fall begins overloading. “Tenet” certainly sounds like Oscar material. And this year, the studios are in the power position, with Netflix not having the hot hand they had last year.
