Universal Pictures is slamming on the brakes on the latest release of “Fast and Furious.”
“F9”, which was scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend, has postponed its release date once again. But don’t be afraid, adrenaline junkies: the high-octane streak has not gone very far; it is still scheduled to open this summer on June 25th.
Universal also announced that “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the fifth installment in the “Despicable Me” franchise, has been postponed for an entire year. The family animated film was scheduled to open on July 2, 2021 and will now be released in theaters on July 1, 2022.
The delays may seem surprising, considering that the Biden administration recently announced that the United States is on track to have sufficient doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for “all adult Americans” by the end of May. At the same time, cinemas in New York City, one of the largest cinema markets in the country, have been approved to reopen with limited capacity.
However, there are still significant limitations faced by the film industry, which was hit by the pandemic. “F9” is priced at around $ 200 million and requires massive ticket sales worldwide to ensure it generates a profit.
On Wednesday, Sony Pictures, encouraged by participation in “Tom and Jerry” and “The Croods: A New Age”, postponed the release of “Peter Rabbit 2” from mid-June to May 14. The cost of the “Peter Rabbit” streak significantly less to produce compared to a sustaining mega-budget like “F9”, making it less of a financial risk.
Universal was evaluating several options for release dates for the “F9”, including the holiday season or next year. However, the studio chose to delay the film just a little, given the positive developments around the vaccine and the hope that Los Angeles cinemas will reopen soon. Although ticket sales in the United States have been sparse, Hollywood was at best encouraged by the Chinese box office, which has had several box office successes in recent months.
The most recent delay for “F9” means that it will debut more than 12 months later than originally planned. The film was initially scheduled for last summer, but Universal has postponed the release date – first to April 2, 2021 and then to May 28 – due to the ongoing health crisis.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Universal signed an agreement with cinema chains such as AMC and Cinemark, which gave the studio the option to release its films on demand within 17 days of their theatrical release. Films that generate at least $ 50 million in ticket sales over the opening weekend will have to be shown exclusively in theaters for 31 days, or five full weekends.
Given the still weak market, it is unclear whether a film can raise $ 50 million in a single weekend. The biggest debuts of the coronavirus era were “Wonder Woman 1984” ($ 16.7 million) and “Tom and Jerry” ($ 14.1 million). But even if “F9” is somehow able to reach the $ 50 million mark, Universal is likely to keep the film in theaters for longer.
After the premiere of “Raya and the Last Dragon” in theaters (and Disney Plus) on Friday, Marvel’s superhero adventure “Black Widow” (May 7) will be the next big movie to be released in theaters . Several others – including Ryan Reynolds’ sci-fi adventure “May 21), Paramount’s” Infinite “starring Mark Wahlberg (May 28), the sequel to Sony’s” Venom “(June 25) and “Top Gun: Maverick” (July 2) – stay on the calendar as well.