Warner Bros. has learned a lesson: It’s still too early to release a movie in theaters. Following the underwhelming return on Tenet, the studio has decided to push back Wonder Woman 1984 from Oct. 2 to Dec. 25, landing it in an increasingly crowded December.
“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,” said Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairman. “We’re very proud of the film and look forward to bringing it to audiences for the holidays.”
This is the most recent of several reschedulings of Wonder Woman 1984, which was slated to land on June 5 before moving to Aug. 14 and then Oct. 2. The studio was evidently waiting to see how Tenet performed in theaters before deciding on whether or not to keep WW84‘s release date, and Tenet only accrued $20 million over its opening weekend. Whether or not Dec. 25 is far enough out to delay Wonder Woman remains to be seen.
Director Patty Jenkins seems pretty happy about the date, saying, “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!”
This is a major blow to theaters as well, as movie theater chains had hoped that Tenet signaled what would be an onslaught of big movies coming out to turn their fortunes around. However, delays have once again been piling up with The King’s Man ditching its September release date, Mulan going digital, and now Wonder Woman 1984 moving. Reports have also come in that Dune, which just had a massive trailer reveal, may see a push to 2021 as well so that it won’t clash with WW84 as Warner rethinks its entire release schedule once again.
