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"Dune", a sci-fi movie directed by Canadian
director Dennis Villeneuve, is now scheduled to open in October
2021, instead of December. The release of "The Batman", starring
Robert Pattinson, has been moved to the spring of 2022 from
October next year.
Movie releases have been getting delayed even after restrictions
were eased, with people still wary of stepping into cinema
halls, and many theaters still not operational.
On Monday, the world's second-biggest cinema chain, Cineworld,
decided to temporarily close its UK and U.S. movie theaters in
an attempt to survive a collapse in film-making and
cinema-going.
Credit rating agency Fitch promptly downgraded the company.
"Our base-case forecasts indicate that, the company's current
liquidity levels may only be sufficient until November to
December 2020, assuming no revolving credit facility (RCF)
extensions," Fitch said in a statement.
Earlier, the filming of "The Batman" was also shut down for two
weeks after a member of the production - widely reported to be
Pattinson - tested positive for the new coronavirus. Filming
resumed in Britain last month and Warner Bros never confirmed or
denied reports about Pattinson's diagnosis.
"Dune" has gained a lot of traction for its cast that includes
24-year-old Timothee Chalamet, who was nominated for an Academy
Award for his role in the 2017 film "Call Me by Your Name."
Other big-budget Warner Bros movies to have their releases
delayed include "Tenet" and "Wonder Woman 1984".
The release of the new James Bond movie "No Time to Die" from
MGM and Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures has also been delayed
until April 2021.
(Reporting by Vishal Vivek in Bengaluru and Lisa Richwine in Los
Angeles; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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