Along with the many potential blockbusters of 2020, the 25th James Bond adventure No Time To Die could face another release date delay, in what would be a third for the film. This comes after other big budget productions, such as Mulan and Wonder Woman 1984, made the move to either forego theaters entirely and premiere on streaming services or release on streaming and in theaters at the same time. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced theaters around the world to close earlier this year, and have not reopened entirely.
The last time Bond was seen on the big screen was 2015, for Daniel Craig's previous outing as the super spy in Spectre. With the follow up No Time To Die being the actor's final 007 adventure, anticipation has run high. When MGM delayed the film shortly before its original April release date to November, it became one of the first major studios to respond in the early days of the COVID pandemic that caused theaters to close. When No Time To Die was recently delayed again until April 2021, a year after its initial release date, some other film studios didn't share the same enthusiasm, and moved their films down the route of online streaming. While this was rumored for the Bond film, MGM have made it clear they plan to release in cinemas - perhaps much later than anticipated.
According to Variety, No Time To Die's key demographic could be the ones making the film's financiers rethink the current release strategy, noting that its audience "skews older, a demographic that’s been more reluctant to go to the movies during the pandemic." The Bond film is set to be one of the first rescheduled blockbusters to premiere in 2021, with the likes of Marvel Studios' Black Widow and Paramount's Top Gun: Maverick planned for release later in that year.
A long wait for a Bond film, sadly, is nothing new. After 1989's License To Kill, fans had to wait six years until the next installment came in the form of GoldenEye, a film that is now deemed one of the best in the franchise. While that gap was due to lengthy legal disputes and personnel changes, this equally long wait for No Time To Die pits the 007 franchise against one of the hardest and most unique predicaments in movie history. A third delay would indeed be a first, but with previously planned cinematic releases now hedging their bets away from cinemas and towards streaming services, MGM may have to adapt quicker than they thought. In fact, Universal, the distributor of No Time To Die, reportedly made a sizable profit after releasing Trolls World Tour on VOD earlier this year. Despite the Bond franchise being known for historic and extravagant film premieres in London's Leicester Square, the possibility of that is looking less and less likely for this latest installment, meaning this third delay could be the nail in the coffin for a VOD release.
Much remains to be seen of the 2021 cinematic landscape, which is currently expected to be stocked with delayed blockbusters, including No Time To Die. With the other big films of 2020 following suit in the wake of the 25th Bond film's delay, if a third delay does hit the 007 adventure, it can be expected that the other blockbusters might again follow suit, and possibly tip the scale in favor of VOD in the future.
Source: Variety
