Paramount Delays All Major Releases Into 2022

[AndyDursin]

Rough ride ahead at the movies:

Paramount has delayed its Tom Cruise tentpoles, “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible 7,” amid a surge in the delta variant of COVID-19.

“Top Gun: Maverick” will now open on May 27, 2022 instead of Nov. 19, 2021, while “Mission: Impossible 7” has been moved from May 27 to Sept. 7. As part of the studio’s announcement, “Jackass Forever” has been pushed back from Oct. 22, 2021 to Feb. 4, 2022.

The release date shuffle comes as the country’s COVID-19 cases continue to surge. Studies have revealed a significant decline in consumer confidence in returning to the movies. Research conducted by NRG has displayed that 67% of moviegoers say they are very or somewhat comfortable” visiting their local theater, which is down 11 points from July. Among family audiences, 58% of parents say they are “very or somewhat comfortable” taking their kids to the movies, which is down five points from last week and marks the lowest point since late April.

[Monterey Jack]

Madreforker.

[AndyDursin]

Top Gun is going to be, what, 2 whole years late to the party?

[Monterey Jack]

Running from the Delta Variant like a pussy...

[Paul MacLean]

Why don't these idiots just release these flicks to streaming services instead of delaying everything until doomsday? Just let me watch new movies at home -- where I don't have to sit on wads of dried gum and butter-flavored syrup stains while drinking a $10 soda.

I can't express how irked I am at Eon Productions for their perpetual delays of Never Say Young To Die (or whatever it's called -- I've forgotten by this point). Not that I care about the film -- but La-La Land is sitting on remastered expanded reissues of Barry's OHMSS and Moonraker -- which it can't release, because Eon wants their release to coincide with the new film.

[Monterey Jack]

Why don't these idiots just release these flicks to streaming services instead of delaying everything until doomsday?

Because they'd be slashing their own throats to do so. They have to release them IN THEATERS, and stop pushing them back. This crap must END.

[Eric W.]

It's hopeless. I'm seeing the same kind of trend in gaming and other entertainment, too. They have lost their damned minds. Stop this.

Release the movies in theaters as limits allow and simultaneously the premium streaming services. There is no logical reason for this except of course to continue to sell a certain narrative. It's ridiculous. If contracts have to be adjusted to avoid more Scarlett Johannsen style lawsuits then so be it. It's not like they aren't drowning in money or anything.

[AndyDursin]

I think it's too late. The art of movie going was dying before COVID because of garbage content. Many people are happy sitting at home now...I doubt a group of half baked franchise revivals and B team Marvel heroes are going to bring it all back to what it was.

[Eric W.]

Guilty as charged. The theaters have been overpriced, dirty, and crowded with rude people for years. I can spend money on a modest home theater with now 4K and have a superior experience with relative ease.

Regardless of venues, it comes down to content and it's just like you said and alluded to Andy: They churn out mostly mediocrity and crap. I'm not going to bother with it regardless of where and when and obviously I'm hardly alone in that.

[Monterey Jack]

Stop it with this "let all theaters die" shite.

[Paul MacLean]

Stop it with this "let all theaters die" shite.

I understand you love going to the movies, Jack. I guess I just don't understand why.

I used to love going to the movies. There was nothing like being introduced to Star Wars, Raiders, Blade Runner, Citizen Kane, Seven Samurai, Barry Lyndon, Mad Max, etc. on a massive screen -- especially in the days of standard definition CRT televisions. VHS was convenient -- but looked crummy. Even laserdisc was vastly inferior to a projected 35mm print. DVD was a huge leap in quality -- but still not equal to watching a 35mm print.

But today, everything that was great great about the cinema can be enjoyed at home -- massive 4K screens are relatively affordable, as are UHD discs and good sound systems. And despite the appeal of seeing a flick in an actual theater, you always had to contend with noisy audiences, expensive popcorn, dirty seating, etc.

The revival theater where I saw many old classics also had issues -- their print of Monty Python and the Holy Grail was missing the entire Sir Lancelot segment! A lot of the prints they screened were 16mm. Sometimes they would mistakenly exhibit prints intended for television broadcast. When they screened The Omen it was a 16mm print -- cropped to 4:3! When they ran Catch 22, they mixed up the reels so that the film was out of order! Their sound system was lousy too.

Still, it was (usually) worth enduring these things for the experience of seeing a great movie on a big screen

But today, I have a big screen at home. I don't have to worry about a Blu-ray containing a 4:3 print of an anamorphic movie. I don't have to worry about missing sequences, or inept projectionists. I don't have to pay $7 for a soda, or sit on a filthy seat, or put up with annoying people who talk and text. I can also pause the movie if I want to go an refill my glass (or use the loo!). I can re-watch the movie as many times as I want -- without having to pay for each viewing.

All the theatrical advantages can be enjoyed at home now -- with none of the inconveniences.

I have no plans to return to the cinema any time soon.

[Monterey Jack]

If there were no movie theaters, I would have zero reason to leave my apartment other than going to work.

[AndyDursin]

I'm certainly not advocating all theaters must die. Paul sums up how I feel about the 2021 cinema and its offerings -- not to rehash his post, but I'm merely pointing out there's going to be a realistic adjustment from this era this that reflects how people view content and where that takes place. It's an undeniable shift.

What's left for theaters remains to be seen, but like I've said, these big spectacle/franchise/IP movies that get built-in audiences out to see them on opening weekend are probably going to be the only movies that see a theatrical run. Whether it's conjunction with streaming options -- we'll have to see. But if the amount of theaters ends up decreasing, especially in areas outside big cities where there's less available movie-goers (and that seems very feasible given how things are going), then almost certainly streaming is going to be a part of, key component of, how movies are exhibited from here on.

That's going to have an eventual fallout on a lot of things: how much studios spend on these films. What kind of movies they spend money on. How much actors get paid (they won't like that one -- notice nobody has even brought that up in most articles related to COVID).

It's a lot to take in, and only time is going to have those answers. But, it was always trending in this direction as I've said many times. COVID only accelerated what would've happened naturally over a longer duration of time.

[jkholm]

I think it's too late. The art of movie going was dying before COVID because of garbage content. Many people are happy sitting at home now...I doubt a group of half baked franchise revivals and B team Marvel heroes are going to bring it all back to what it was.

"Going to the movies" as an American pastime was already winding down long before COVID. I don't think movie theaters will ever go away for good but going to a theater will become a niche activity. My theory is that movie theaters will become like bowling alleys. Theaters will still exist but in fewer numbers. Some will be fancy with extra activities (Dallas has a venue that is both a bowling alley and a movie theater) but others will be run-down. Just as there will always be people who truly enjoy bowling as a hobby, those who buy their own equipment, join leagues and play every weekend, there will be people who go to the movies every weekend. For others, movie going will be an occasional activity, maybe something they do for a birthday or for a fun night out with their friends and family.

[Monterey Jack]

I have been to the movies over 40 times this year alone.