Eternals' release date could all depend on how Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings perform at the box office. Despite the summer movie season kicking off with impressive openings for films like A Quiet Place: Part II and Cruella, moviegoers' confidence in venturing out to the theater has dipped in recent months with more stories concerning rising cases of the COVID-19 delta variant. With the summer movie season set to end soon, all eyes are on the upcoming slate of movies for the Fall and holiday season.

Many films have already been shifting release dates and even distribution platforms. Paramount Pictures took Clifford the Big Red Dog off the schedule from its September 2021 release date, while Sony Pictures sold Hotel Transylvania: Transformonia to Amazon Prime and MGM's The Addams Family 2 will open in theaters and be available to stream on VOD the same day. Sony Pictures also delayed the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage back three weeks from September to October, with the latest reports saying Sony could delay the film to 2022.

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Marvel Studios is now considering what to do with Eternals. According to Vulture, the studio could delay the release of Eternals if Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings underperforms at the box office. No exact estimate was given on how Shang-Chi needs to perform, but the film's early box office projections have it at the lowest opening weekend in the MCU since The Incredible Hulk back in 2008.

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A delay to Eternals would also cause a domino effect on the entire MCU slate and could push back the release dates for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Marvels, which are all due out in 2022. Four movies in one year is already a lot, essentially one film for every financial quarter, so releasing five could be possibly too much for the studio. There is also no word on how the delay would impact the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home which is up for Sony to decide.

Eternals' release has had a certain cloud hanging over it, made worse by the recent lawsuit from Scarlett Johansson regarding the Disney+ release of Black Widow. While it is possible Disney could still try to keep the November 5, 2021 release date for Eternals, launch it on Disney+ Premier Access, and try to pay major stars like Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek, both director Chloe Zhao and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige ideally want Eternals seen on a big screen. With Free Guy showing that theatrical exclusivity can help a film's box office and early word of mouth on Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings being so positive, it is possible the film could open high and stay consistent performer, giving Marvel the confidence to release Eternals as planned.

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Source: Vulture

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