No Time to Die has been pushed back from its planned April release.
The release of the new film in the long-running James Bond franchise, No Time to Die, was originally scheduled to hit theaters on April 10, 2020 after a worldwide premier in London on March 31. Due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, however, both fans and entertainment industry workers are concerned that the release of such a prolific film may spread the disease. It is for this reason that, earlier in the week, representatives from several high-traffic James Bond fansites banded together to request that the release of the film be postponed, both for the audiences’ sake, and the sake of the film’s financial success.
“With a month to go before No Time to Die opens worldwide, community spread of the virus is likely to be peaking in the United States,” the representatives wrote. “There is a significant chance that cinemas will be closed, or their attendance severely reduced, by early April. Even if there are no legal restrictions on cinemas being open, to quote M in Skyfall, ‘How safe do you feel?'”
Yesterday, the producers of the film announced that they agreed with the representatives’ sentiments, and have officially decided to push the film back.
No Time to Die is now scheduled for a tentative release date of November 25, 2020. This marks the first instance of a film’s release being delayed due to coronavirus concerns. The entertainment industry as a whole is predicting stormy weather until the threat of COVID-19 finally dies down. The film industry alone is projecting a $5 billion loss due to theater closures in China.