Day and generally accounts for $4 billion, nearly
40% of the yearly North American box office.
And there was a lot more to look forward to:
Tom Cruise’s return to one of his most iconic
roles, a “Wonder Woman” sequel, original fare
from Christopher Nolan and Wes Anderson and
more. Then the unthinkable happened.
Now modern Hollywood is faced with a gutted
summer season that at the very earliest will kick
off months late — and even that is changing
by the minute. On Monday, Judd Apatow’s Pete
Davidson movie “The King of Staten Island”
switched to a June 12 home video release,
following in the path of Disney’s “Artemis Fowl,”
out on Disney Plus June 12, and Warner Bros.’
“Scoob!” available May 15.
A few states are talking about allowing movie
theaters to reopen soon — Texas as early as
Friday. But no major blockbusters are set to
open until mid-July. The first is Christopher
Nolan’s thriller “Tenet,” a Warner Bros. film,
which has ardently stood its ground on July 17.
Shortly after, Disney plans to open “Mulan” on
July 24, four months after its original date. And
then comes “Wonder Woman 1984” on Aug. 14,
two months later than planned. It’s something,
but it’s still a shell of what summer 2020 at the
movies was supposed to be.
“We’re down 50% right now,” said Comscore
senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “If
theaters open in mid-July it’ll offset some of the
really disastrous models. But it would be naive
to think that we’re going to make up all that
box office.”
Studios have depended on massive revenues
from the summer months for decades,