Warner Bros. postponed the release of Petty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman sequel until Christmas, reports the Verge. The reason is straightforward: at the moment, between 25 and 30 percent of US cinemas remain closed, including those in profitable locations like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. As for re-opened movie theaters, they operate at a reduced capacity due to health and safety regulations.
This isn’t to say Warner Bros. isn’t experimenting with big-budget releases. Tenet came out overseas in the last week of August. US release followed a week later. So far, Christopher Nolan’s latest film grossed around $150 million worldwide on a $200 million budget. Considering the circumstances, these are decent results. Currently, the only genuine competition to Tenet at the box office is coronavirus itself. The movie might even earn its money back throughout September. But Warner Bros. executives remain worried. The studio seems to believe that by December 25, audiences might feel safer in cinemas. Worst-case scenario, they can always postpone sequel Wonder Woman 1984 again, as they did several times.
Currently, fans are worried about what this decision might mean for Dune. Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel remains set for a release on December 18. And while there have been no changes so far, the teaser trailer doesn’t even mention the release date. Fans are afraid Warner Bros. might decide to postpone its release to avoid the clash with Wonder Woman 1984.
