Recently, MGM announced its plans to push back the debut of the forthcoming No Time To Die film all the way to November 2020 because of the coronavirus. While it was set to arrive on April 10th, the potential ramifications of the crippling epidemic caused filmmakers to rethink their release. With $4.5 million already lost on a Super Bowl ad, insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that MGM is set to lose up to $50 million in expenses due to the delay.
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In North America, numerous theaters have already shuttered their doors due to the virus. Taking this into consideration, MGM stood to lose at least 30 percent of its projected box pull, anywhere from $300 million to $1 billion. Ultimately, the decision proved to protect the company's best interests.
In China, approximately 70,000 theaters have already closed down since January with no clear track toward reopening. With newfound outbreak clusters in Europe, the United Kingdom and Italy are also eyeing the possibility of theater closures moving forward.
“They obviously are doing the right thing by putting the public safety, world safety, first,” said No Time to Die producer Barbara Broccoli.
New reports suggest that No Time To Die won't be the last in a string of big-budget films that will delay their debut to offset losses.
"It's futile to try and predict what will happen right now and it's something only the studios can ultimately answer," Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. "We're all in a wait-and-see mode."