It’s no time to die go to the movies.
Yesterday afternoon, the official James Bond website released a statement alerting fans that the upcoming Bond movie No Time to Die, which had been slated for an April release, has been postponed until November (Nov. 25 in the U.S.).
While the word “coronavirus” doesn’t appear in the statement, this seems to be a direct response to COVID-19 and the impact it would have on audience turnout and box-office results for the film on a global scale.
This isn’t the first or only way that the coronavirus has impacted the entertainment and fandom industries. Disney canceled its European Disney+ launch event; major companies, including Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, have pulled out of South by Southwest (SXSW); and ReedPop is offering refunds for next weekend’s Emerald City Comic Con.
The coronavirus has also severely impacted the Chinese box office as a whole. Variety reports that the country — which is the second-largest movie theater market in the world — saw a $1.91 billion decrease in box-office revenue for January and February.
So far, no U.S. movie theaters have closed in response to the virus, but major chains are seeing impacts from concerned investors. According to the Wall Street Journal, AMC’s stock fell nearly 30% over the past two weeks. The theater chain also closed 22 theaters in Italy for a week as a precaution.
The No Time To Die reschedule raises the question: Will other major upcoming movie releases, such as Mulan (March 27) and Black Widow (May 1), get a similar date change? So far, Disney hasn’t announced plans to move either release for the U.S.
Stay tuned for more updates, and help yourself wait out the extra eight Bond-free months by humming Billie Eilish’s “No Time To Die” theme while you wash your hands: get those 20 seconds in!
Photo: 007.com
