Wonder Woman 1984 may be pushed to a Christmas 2020 release

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Warner Bros is adamant in putting WONDER WOMAN 1984 on the big screen but they are not going to play fast and loose with potential box office results. While the original summer tentpole moved to Thanksgiving, WB may be pondering another shift. Rumors suggest WONDER WOMAN 1984 may become a Christmas 2020 blockbuster assuming theaters remain open and audiences are willing to brave cold weather, flu season, and packed houses to see Gal Gadot strut her stuff opposite Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal.

The reason for the potential shift is due to a couple of key factors. To begin with, theaters in major areas such as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco still aren't open. Without these locations printing tickets and hocking snacks, the warrior princess stands to lose a significant chunk of her box office earnings. This is obviously a no-go for Warner Bros., especially after delaying the film in the hope that theaters would rise like a mighty phoenix later in the year. Things being what they are, it now sounds as if WONDER WOMAN 1984 could open sometime in November or maybe December. Should the film be bumped to December, there's a chance that Legendary's DUNE could be delayed until sometime in 2021. This after dropping an incredible trailer for Denis Villeneuve's latest sci-fi opus earlier today.

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Another reason that WONDER WOMAN 1984 could be pushed is Christopher Nolan's TENET. While the film performed admirably during its opening weekend, the TENET still needs to perform like gangbusters in areas where it has yet to screen if it's to be labeled a box office success. According to sources, theaters in New York and Los Angeles won’t open until early October/late September, meaning that TENT won't have the chance to recoup its losses until then. In short, if WONDER WOMAN 1984 is in theaters at the same time as TENET, one can draw attention (and money) away from the other. This is bad news bears for all involved and something is going to have to give if both films are to become a success.

From what I've read, it sounds like theater owners have been bracing themselves for another delay of WONDER WOMAN 1984. While the shifts in release dates are undoubtedly irksome, WB has yet to announce any plans for releasing the superhero sequel on PVOD or streaming. This provides theater owners with a bit of a cushion because at least they know that they'll get the movie eventually. Something is better than nothing, right?

With regard to WONDER WOMAN 1984 opening in November, there's a chance that it could happen, but it's unlikely. I say this because in order for Diana to make a splash in theaters around Turkey Day, she'd have to square off against Marvel's BLACK WIDOW (Nov. 6) and MGM's NO TIME TO DIE (Nov. 20) for the lion's share of the box office. In all honesty, how would you split that audience? Fans are having a hard enough time convincing themselves that it's safe to return to theaters and then you offer them three massive releases inside of one window? I don't think so.

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Recently, a Comscore exit poll of Tenet and New Mutants revealed that 95% of audience members over the weekend said they’d definitely or probably tell a friend that it’s great to be back at the theater, while 57% said that it’s great to be back at the movies (with 35% saying that it’s nice, but not the same as pre-COVID). Additionally, 57% said they were aware of their theater’s safety protocols before attending and deemed them safe, while 50% said theater safety protocols were important to coming back to the movies upon their reopening.

Let me get this straight, only 50% thought it was important for theater safety protocols to be in place? You have got to be … Actually, you know what? No. Take a deep breath, man. You're not going to win this fight.

In reporting on this mess, Deadline has graciously laid out the 2020 wide release schedule:

Sept 11

Broken Hearts Gallery (Tri-Star)

Sept. 25

Greenland (STX)

Oct. 2

????

Oct. 9

Candyman (Universal/MGM)

War With Grandpa (101 Studios)

Oct. 23

Death on the Nile (20th/Disney)

Lord and Miller Connected (Sony)

Oct. 30

Fatale (Lionsgate)

Nov. 6

Black Widow(Disney)

Let Him Go (Focus)

Nov. 13

Universal untitled event film

Deep Water (20th)

Nov. 20

No Time to Die (MGM)

Soul (Disney)

Nov. 25

Voyagers (Lionsgate)

Happiest Season (Sony)

Dec. 4

The Empty Man (20th/Disney)

Dec. 11

Free Guy

Dec. 18

Coming to America 2 (Paramount)

West Side Story (20th/Amblin/Disney)

Dune (Warner Bros/Legendary) — ???

Dec. 23

Croods 2 (Uni/DWA)

Dec. 25

News of the World (Uni)

Dec. 30

Escape Room 2 (Sony)