You hear that? It’s the sound of the movie industry crumbling into oblivion. It was almost inevitable that we wouldn’t be getting any big title theatrical releases during the winter and tonight it was all, but confirmed with the announcement that “No Time to Die,” the 25th James Bond installment, has now been further delayed from original April 2021 date to October 7th, 2021. It was originally slated to open worldwide in April 2020, then pushed to two different November 2020 dates, and most recently was set to hit theaters on April 2, 2021.
The decision to move the upcoming Bond entry was going to come no matter which way you shook it. New York and Los Angeles, the two biggest U.S. markets, are still shut down and won’t be reopening in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in Europe have been rising significantly every week. Also, putting into the account the fact that Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” tanked at the U.S. box-office, there is an unwillingness for many Americans to go back to theatres until they get vaccinated.
MGM is no doubt panicking. The Bond studio must now very serious about selling the rights to their latest James Bond film to, gulp, a streaming service. Their asking price is rumored to be $650-700 million.
It all stems from MGM feeling the pressure because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the “No Time to Die” delays are costing MGM $1 million per month, in interestS alone. THR is also reporting that it wasn’t even Netflix who came closest to matching the $650 million price tag being demanded by MGM, but, rather, Apple. According to the report, Apple wouldn’t go over $400 million for what would have been a 12-month license. MGM is still refusing to go under $600 million for the sale.
I truly believe we will be seeing the first Bond movie ever premiering online instead of in theaters. It’s coming, folks. There is no light at the end of this tunnel After the failed “Tenet” experiment by Warner Bros. in the U.S. every single studio delayed their prized blockbusters. None of them will be coming out now until COVID cases have been drained out to the single digits.
Here’s the teaser for Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” which Neon has officially dated for a December 25, 2026 release. I’ve also posted some first look images below.