The release of the new James Bond film has been postponed seven months because of fears over coronavirus. The producers said that they had moved the release of “no time to die” after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace.
The James Bond film was due to be released on April 3rd, but will now come out on 12th November in the UK and 25th November in the US. It was set to premiere on 31st March at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The founders of MI6 Confidential and The James Bond Dossier in an open letter on Monday wrote,
“Just one person, who may not even show symptoms, could infect the rest of the audience, this is not the type of publicity that anyone wants.”
“We have all waited over four years for this film. Another few months will not damage the quality of the film and only help the box office for Daniel Craig’s final hurrah,” they added.
The last Bond film, Spectre, took almost $900m (£690m) at worldwide box offices in 2015. Some film analysts have suggested that the covid-19 could wipe $5 billion (£3.8bn) off the global box office, with many of China’s cinemas already closed and revenues hit in South Korea and Italy.
Matthew Belloni who is the Hollywood Reporter editorial director, noted that it was a huge and very costly move, and a sign of what’s likely to come with Hollywood’s big summer movies.
