Los Angeles (AFP)
Disney announced on Tuesday a new postponement of the highly anticipated "Black Widow" and many other Marvel superhero films and cartoons, dampening hopes of a rapid recovery in US movie theater attendance after a year of pandemic.
"Black Widow", starring Scarlett Johansson, was considered the main box office release of the spring, and was intended to once again attract fans to the multiplexes, which have just reopened their doors with a reduced gauge of Los Angeles and New York.
The release date of the film dedicated to the Marvel heroine is now set for July 9, two months behind the previous Disney calendar, and will be available at the same time for subscribers of the Disney + platform, at an additional cost.
For Disney, which puts more and more forward its streaming service, this decision reflects "the evolution of the preferences of the public" in a market which "begins to recover from the pandemic".
The announcement remains a blow to cinemas which have suffered the full brunt of the pandemic and intended to take advantage of the financial windfall of Disney films to return to revenue.
"Luca", an Italian-inspired Pixar animated film, will be released directly on Disney + without going through the cinema box, while "Cruella", a live-action film derived from "101 Dalmatians", will be released simultaneously in theaters and streaming on May 28, the world's number one entertainment company reported.
"Black Widow" was originally due for release in May 2020 but the coronavirus has completely changed the studio schedule.
This postponement automatically resulted in the postponement of another Marvel film, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” now announced for September.
In turn, this decision by Disney may also affect the release of other big Hollywood productions which aimed to exploit the summer vein, generally very profitable.
© 2021 AFP