‘No Time to Die’’, the latest installment in the highly lucrative James Bond film franchise, has been delayed until November of 2020 due to the global coronavirus outbreak.  Originally set to be released in April of this year, MGM reportedly further delayed the film due to the potential risk of box office failure in conjunction with keeping moviegoers safe from increased exposure to the novel virus.  In his article for CNN, Frank Pallotta argues that while this is the first major film studio to delay one of their features due to the outbreak, it will most likely not be the last.  While most major studios currently are maintaining their films slated release dates, this could obviously be subject to change if the pandemic is not contained on a much broader scale in the coming weeks and months.  While movie chains remain open across the United States, theaters in much of Asia, specifically in China, which is the second largest market for movies in the world, have closed down in order to contain the outbreak.  Upcoming films such as the latest installment in the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ are highly reliant on international box office success and their release dates will likely be altered as well if sweeping containment of the virus is not successful on a global scale.  

The global containment efforts to contain this outbreak, the likes of which have not been seen in modern times, obviously have huge implications for the entertainment industry.  It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks if the disease is managed enough to where restrictions can be lifted or if other major film releases will be forced to be delayed as well.  Another aspect of these delays that remains to be seen is if these movies projected box office numbers will remain consistent with their altered release dates or if they will suffer financial loses ultimately.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/media/coronavirus-james-bond-box-office/index.html