Sony performed some shock and awe this late afternoon by delaying most of its 2023 movie slate to next year. Only “Gran Turismo” will stay in tact, released on August 25th with “fan buzz” leading the charge for that film’s marketing.
However, Sony’s two other big movies this year, “Kraven the Hunter” (09.30.24) and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (03.29.24) have been moved to 2024.
Consequently, ‘Ghostbusters’ knocks “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spiderverse” off its Easter weekend date to a TBD. As I had previously reported, there was no way ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ would have been completed on time for next year.
Other films with new release dates include “Bad Boys 4” (06.14.23), “Venom 2” (07.12.24), “Madame Web” (02.14.23) and “Karate Kid 2” (12.13.24).
Most of these delays are due to continuous effort by the studios to not return to the negotiating table with the writers/actors. They’re playing hardball and don’t mind losing money in the process.
Here’s the New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan speaking some sense about the current situation:
Studios will literally push big films to 2024, fritter away the momentum from Barbenheimer, imperil theaters still recovering from the pandemic, and take on countless millions in delay-related costs instead of just reopening negotiations to end the strike.
Honestly, at this point, who cares. Have you read the titles that I just mentioned? Save for, maybe, ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse, does anybody reading this site actually want these movies released?
I hope this strike demolishes the big studio system for good. We need a good old fashioned dismantling and to rebuild it from scratch, which is what happened in the late ‘60s — this paved the way for a great decade of moviegoing in the ‘70s. I know, wishful thinking, but one can dream.
Scott says it could be “the highest budget film” of his career” before accounting for tax incentives.” If Scott isn’t bullsh*tting here, and lord knows he might be, that would put the cost in the $200M+ range.