This morning I reported that Ethan Coen’s “Drive-Away Dolls” was not going to be released on September 22nd and was moved to a TBA date. Deadline is now re-confirming my scoop.
They also add that Focus Features’ Ethan Coen road comedy won’t be making its way to Venice, Toronto and Telluride either. They’ve nixed any possible festival appearances due to the large ensemble cast and Coen not being able to promote the film since he’s part of the WGA.
Deadline then mentions additional details to the already-rumoured “Dune: Chapter Two” date change. Nothing has been set in stone, for now, but, if the strike is still ongoing in September then Warner Bros might move Denis Villeneuve’s epic to the Spring of 2024, or a possible launch in May at the Cannes Film Festival.
So, just to recap, ‘Dune 2’ could potentially be delayed to sometime between March - June of 2024, but no decision has been made yet. In fact, it will almost certainly be delayed if the strike is still happening this September.
Last week, there was a report that Warner Bros. was “strongly considering” pushing the Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya epic to next year from its current November 3rd slot, according to “three individuals with knowledge of discussions.”
Villeneuve’s first ‘Dune’ film already had to deal with the limitations of the pandemic in 2021, but still managed to become a commercial success — grossing $400+ million worldwide.
So, we have the September release calendar starting to get wiped clean — “Poor Things,” “Challengers,” and “Drive-Away Dolls” have already been moved. It seems as though studios are taking it on a month by month basis when it comes to their final decisions to delay releases.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.