ViacomCBS Inc's Paramount Pictures also said
"Top Gun: Maverick", the much-awaited sequel to the Tom
Cruise-starring "Top Gun", has been delayed to July 2, 2021 from
December 23, 2020.
"Mulan" was scheduled to reach theaters in March but its release
has been postponed several times as many cinemas remain closed.
The film had most recently been set to debut on Aug. 21 and
theater operators had hoped it would help spark a late-summer
rebound for movie-going.
Disney also said it had delayed the next film installments from
two of its biggest franchises, "Avatar" and "Star Wars," by one
year as the novel coronavirus has disrupted production.
The "Avatar" sequel is now set to debut in theaters in December
2022, and the next "Star Wars" movie in December 2023.
"It’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it
comes to how we release films during this global health crisis,"
a Disney representative said. "Today that means pausing our
release plans for 'Mulan' as we assess how we can most
effectively bring this film to audiences around the world."
The "Mulan" delay follows Warner Bros decision to postpone the
August release of Christopher Nolan thriller "Tenet." The two
films were seen as theaters' best chance to salvage part of the
lucrative summer season.
The AMC and Cineworld movie theater chains on Thursday pushed
back the reopening date for their U.S. theaters to at least
mid-August from the end of July.
The "Avatar" delay also removes one of next year's biggest
movies.
The follow-up to James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster that is the
second highest-grossing film of all time, "Avatar 2" had faced
numerous delays even before the coronavirus outbreak. At one
time it had been expected to reach theaters in 2014.
Disney has not released details on the next "Star Wars" film.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and additional reporting by Rama
Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Gerry Doyle)
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