'Wonder Woman 1984' Delayed To A Christmas Release Date

Wonder Woman 1984 has been constantly delayed, especially in this COVID-19 world in which we currently lived. The most recent release date that it had been pushed back to was October 2, 2020. Now, according to Variety, it is set for December 25.

Toby Emmerich, the chairman of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, commented:

“Patty is an exceptional filmmaker and with ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ she has delivered an incredibly dynamic film that moviegoers of all ages around the world will absolutely love. We’re very proud of the film and look forward to bringing it to audiences for the holidays.”

Director Patty Jenkins had the following words to give to the fans:

“First and foremost let me say how much Gal and I love all our devoted Wonder Woman fans around the world, and your excitement for ‘WW84’ couldn’t make us happier or more eager for you to see the movie. Because I know how important it is to bring this movie to you on a big screen when all of us can share the experience together, I’m hopeful you won’t mind waiting just a little bit longer. With the new date on Christmas Day, we can’t wait to spend the holidays with you!”

There is a precedent for Warner Bros. releasing a DC film around Christmas and having success. Aquaman is the example, which is a bit odd given that Shazam! would have been more fitting for a release around Christmas given that the film takes place around that time. Regardless, Aquaman got enough box office success. Perhaps Wonder Woman 1984 could be successful as well, though it is difficult to predict given these times of uncertainty. 70% of movie theaters in the US have reopened, but there are still vital markets such as Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco that need to be reopened in order to ensure more box office success. So this delay may be a wise move on the part of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. recently released Christopher Nolan’s film Tenet after delaying it as well. The film had a budget of $200 million, and its Labor Day opening weekend in the US made only $20 million. Variety says that sources close to the studio were waiting to see how well Tenet would perform before deciding whether or not to delay Wonder Woman 1984 even further. With Wonder Woman 1984 pushed back, perhaps Tenet could get more ticket sales, but of course, that has yet to be seen.

Warner Bros. recently released a trailer to the new film adaptation of Dune, which has been slated for December 18 for a while. However, the trailer did not include the release date, causing speculation that the release date is no longer set in stone. With Wonder Woman 1984 coming out on December 25, a mere week after December 18, it would make sense for Warner Bros. to delay Dune to 2021 so that the studio can avoid competing with itself. Legendary Pictures produces Dune, but Warner Bros. is distributing it.

While Wonder Woman 1984 had been promoted at DC FanDome, there has not been much marketing since then. So it is not very surprising that this delay happened. The panel at DC FanDome at least reminded people that the film was still coming out and gave them more stuff to look forward to. The film is certainly not forgotten, but it may need more time before it can be released at a time that would benefit the film. Many people are excited to see Wonder Woman 1984, so now it is just a matter of waiting a bit longer.

Written By Steven Shinder

Syndicated From Culture Slate