In Laman's Terms: Movie Studios Are Abandoning 2020 For A (Hopefully) Better 2021

Actual image of white people protesting that they can't go get a haircut during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

In Laman's Terms is a weekly editorial column where Douglas Laman rambles on about certain topics or ideas that have been on his mind lately. Sometimes he's got serious subjects to discuss, other times he's just got some silly stuff to shoot the breeze about. Either way, you know he's gonna talk about something In Laman's Terms!

Yesterday, Sony announced that the title of the incoming Venom sequel would be Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In the middle of an era in American history that seems to be delivering non-stop bad news, the entire internet was in agreement of how this title was actually pretty amazing. No generic "Rise of the [BLANK]" or "Revenge of the [BLANK]" sequel title for Venom 2. Instead, they went all out with a super-distinctive title that immediately conjures up images of a trashy fun time at the movie. Even as someone who largely was negative on the original Venom, this title alone has me hoping they've captured a more consistently weird and fun tone for the sequel. Oh, and also make it totally gay. just 110% gay all the time.


Alongside this game-changing title, Sony also announced that Venom: Let There Be Carnage would no longer be coming out on October 2, 2020. Though it apparently finished filming just before the Coronavirus epidemic hit full steam in the United States, the post-production process of this VFX-heavy project was undoubtedly impeded by the entertainment industry getting shut down. Thus, once Warner Bros. delayed The Batman from June 25, 2021 to an October 2021 release date, Sony decided to place Let There Be Carnage in the now vacant late June 2021 slot. Not only did it reflect a savvy release date shift on the part of Sony*, but it also reflected a broader trend in how movie studios are responding to the Coronavirus.

As this health crisis continues on, more and more theatrically-released movies are seeing their release dates shifted around the calendar. In the span of six weeks, the entire 2020 and 2021 film landscape looks radically different. What kind of delays are being implemented tend to vary based on the movie studio though. For distributors Disney and Warner Bros., these adjustments have predominately included making as few tweaks as possible. Both studios rely heavily on big-budget franchise fare slated for release dates occupying weekends each studio likes to corner. Disney doesn't wanna give up the mid-June slot they always use for PIXAR fare unless absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, the mid-July slot Warner Bros. always uses for Christopher Nolan movies, that's not going down without a fight.

To boot, both studios have long-ranging cinematic universes that can't be delayed without impacting a slew of other movies. This makes release date delays ultra-tricky for both distributors. This is why Disney clung to Soul's June 2020 release date for as long as they possibly could while they only delayed Mulan (previously set for March 27, 2020) three months. August 2020 releases The One and Only Ivan and The Pale Man have still seen no delays. Disney has finally been forced to do some major delays recently but they didn't do it easily. Meanwhile, on Monday, WB delayed a bunch of adult dramas previously set for release in 2020. However, 2020 blockbuster Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984, Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune are all (currently) staying put in their respective release date slots, all of which are spaces where WB has successfully released mega-blockbusters recent years.

By contrast, the rest of the major American movie studios (Universal, Paramount and Sony/Columbia) are taking a far more drastic approach to delaying titles in the wake of the Coronavirus epidemic. Disney and WB can likely still have a big year at the box office with new PIXAR, DC Comics and Marvel Studios titles. The other studios, especially Paramount and Sony/Columbia, don't have as reliable brands to work with. Whereas Disney dragged its feet on delaying Black Widow and Soul, one of the first movies delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak was the Universal title F9. The newest Fast & Furious adventure, previously set for May 22, 2020, was delayed nearly an entire year to April 2, 2021.

Universal similarly delayed the next Minions a whole year to a July 2021 bow while the Bob Odenkirk action film Nobody was delayed six months to February 2021. Meanwhile, Sony/Columbia delayed their Summer 2020 tentpoles Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Peter Rabbit and Morbius all the way to the first three months of 2021 while Paramount has sent 2020 blockbusters The Tomorrow War and Infinite to 2021. I won't be surprised if they end up also delaying Snake Eyes (currently slated for an October 23, 2020 bow) to the following year as well. With these moves, these studios are signaling that they're pretty much done with 2020. Time to delay things to 2021 where they can all regroup and hopefully launch their projects in a market more conducive to theatrical moviegoing.

An image from Soul, one of many Summer 2020 movies whose release date was extensively delayed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's an understandable move for a number of reasons, including how nobody can really predict how long the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on movie theaters will last. Will it be over by July 2020? August 2020? September 2020? Instead of delaying a movie by two months and then delaying it again once this pandemic goes on for longer than expected, studios like Universal are hedging their bets and just putting all their chips on 2021. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic hasn't just affected the release of movies, it's also stopped production on new movies that were supposed to release in 2021. With those titles now affected for the near future, studios will need something to release in 2021.

Why not, then, delay a swarm of blockbusters originally set for release in 2020? Even Disney is occasionally going this route through moves like delaying Eternals and Raya and the Last Dragon (both previously set for November 2020) to February and March 2021 release slots, respectively. Warner Bros. has also decided to take a cue from this extensive delay maneuver by having their musical In the Heights, previously set for a June 2020 launch, now prepare for a June 2021 debut.

As the majority of movies abandon 2020 in hopes of a brighter 2021, film geeks like myself can feel crestfallen knowing that the wait for new theatrically-exhibited movies is longer than ever. But what's important right now is doing all precautions necessary to keep COVID-19 at bay. Now is not the time to re-open business and act like everything is normal. Now is the time to do anything and everything to keep people safe. Waiting a little longer for new movies is the bare minimum we (and I include myself in there) should all be doing in these times. While we await these delayed movies, let's all spend our time thanking healthcare workers, grocery store employees and others working to help other during these trying times.

Oh! And we should all also spend time our in self-isolation continuing to praise the title Venom: Let There Be Carnage, God that's a choice title.

*= Up to this point, Sony had an untitled Marvel Studios Spider-Man movie set for release on July 16, 2021. There's no way Sony is gonna release a Venom movie just three weeks before a Spidey movie so I'd imagine the next Tom Holland Spider-Man movie is, like all other pre-Black Panther II Marvel Studios titles, getting a release date delay. The only question now is if they keep it in 2021 or if they just send it off to 2022.