The Black Widow release date is officially delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In early March, No Time to Die became the first Hollywood tentpole to shift dates in response to the global health crisis, citing concerns over the worldwide theatrical marketplace. Since then, other films have followed suit, with the likes of A Quiet Place Part II, New Mutants, Mulan, and F9 all pushed back as COVID-19 continues to spread. There's no telling when the situation will improve, and in an attempt to flatten the curve, drastic measures are being taken in the U.S. and other countries.
Several movie theaters, including chains AMC, Regal, and Alamo Drafthouse, are closed indefinitely because of the outbreak, and the CDC recently recommended all gatherings of 50+ people should be cancelled for at least two months. These circumstances made it all the more likely Black Widow (which has stuck to its May 2020 release date through all of this) would be pushed back at some point. Now, the inevitable has happened.
Today, Disney officially delayed Black Widow, The Personal History of David Copperfield, and The Woman in the Window from their previously scheduled May release windows. New dates for the trio of films will be announced at a later time.
Just yesterday, Universal announced they would be making their new movies like The Invisible Man and Trolls: World Tour available on-demand so people could watch them from home while quarantined. Some wondered if other studios would follow suit, but for the time being, Disney appears to be committed to giving their postponed titles traditional theatrical runs. As for when that might be, it's anyone's best guess right now. The coronavirus crisis is still very fluid, making it difficult to predict how things will look a couple of weeks from now, let alone a couple of months. In the case of Black Widow, where the worldwide box office is of utmost importance, it will be dependent on when theaters in China and Europe are open again. Marvel movies have always been huge draws overseas, and Disney obviously wants to maximize Black Widow's profits. It'll likely be a while before the film hits the big screen.
Black Widow's delay is just the latest instance of coronavirus having an impact on the MCU's Phase 4 slate. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are among the many in-production projects that have been put on hold in response to the pandemic. Other Marvel films like Thor: Love and Thunder and Spider-Man 3 were supposed to start shooting this summer, but it's unknown if those plans will be able to remain in place. It's possible Black Widow isn't the only Phase 4 title to be moved from its original release date. Since the MCU is known for its interconnectivity and there's a strategic reason behind when movies or TV shows are released (some of the Disney+ series tie into the new films), they're going to have to figure some things out as they enter the post-Infinity Saga era.
