Despite Amazon's acquisition of MGM, the long-awaited No Time to Die will still receive a theatrical release later this year. Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond has suffered a bumpy road to the big screen; even after conquering some production setbacks like Craig's onset injury, No Time to Die became one of the unlucky movies struggling to find a suitable release date amid the coronavirus pandemic. After being delayed multiple times over the past year, the movie remains scheduled for October 8, a date that is so far holding firm.

Movie theaters have started to make a comeback around the globe, with films like Godzilla vs. Kong and Fast & Furious 9 posting encouraging numbers. The next few months have several major releases scheduled. However, some movies are still getting sent to streaming to avoid potential losses. Amazon has become a home to some of these displaced projects, such as Coming 2 America and July's The Tomorrow War. Now, with the news that Amazon has bought MGM, some feel there is reason to be concerned that the studio's upcoming releases could be shifted over to streaming.

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That will not be the case. According to Deadline, Amazon's absorption of MGM won't change this year's theatrical plans. This includes movies like The Addams Family 2, House of Gucci, and, yes, No Time to Die. On the subject of the Bond film, it's said producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have specifically determined it will get a theatrical release.

Daniel Craig as James Bond in No Time To Die

Last year, there were reports of No Time to Die being shopped to various streamers, with MGM reportedly looking for $600 million. However, no deal ever came to fruition, and the Bond flick will be seen on the big screen. Though several big budget movies have adopted streaming options amid the pandemic, the general consensus still seems to be a theatrical run is the preferred debut for blockbusters. As audiences have been waiting so long to see Craig's final turn as James Bond, it would be a shame to see No Time to Die shuffled off to streaming. Luckily, however, that does not appear to be in the cards.

No Time to Die will arrive in the midst of a bigger-than-usual fall movie season, which is currently planning to also see the releases of Eternals, Dune, and Top Gun: Maverick. It remains to be seen what the moviegoing landscape will look like by then, but the Bond producers appear to be hopeful No Time to Die will find success with a theatrical debut. For a movie as big as this one, it makes sense, and hopefully this plan will remain in place over the next several months.

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Source: Deadline

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