Sony delays Morbius, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Uncharted, and Cinderella

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

2021 is really feeling like 2020 with some of these recent film delays. Fresh off the heels of MGM delaying the latest Bond film No Time To Die, Sony Pictures has made the decision to delay the releases of not one but four films. Morbius, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Uncharted, & Cinderella, starring Camila Cabello, are all on the move.

Morbius was the first of the Sony releases to be delayed in 2021 when it was shifted off of its March 19, 2021, date to October 8, 2021. According to "Deadline", the reason for moving Morbius is all about 007. Once No Time To Die moved from April 2, 2021, to October 8, 2021, Sony didn't want to risk competing with another big tentpole on the same weekend. Morbius will now open on January 21, 2022, the weekend after MLK weekend. The upside, if there is one, is that Morbius will have access to all Imax screens and the film is the only wide release dated for that weekend. The road to the big screen has been a long one for Morbius. The Sony release was originally set to open on July 10, 2020, before moving three weeks later to July 31, 2020. The film saw all of its future delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic which pushed it to March 19, 2021, and now January 21, 2022. 

Cinderella will now release in theaters on July 16, 2021, instead of February 5, 2021. Moving the Cabello Cinderella adaptation to July moves Tom Holland's video game adaptation of Uncharted, which was originally set for mid-July, to February 11, 2022. That's right. Even though Tom Holland completed shooting on Uncharted before the currently shooting Spider-Man 3, the Marvel sequel will come out first unless 2021 pulls a major 2020 on the release schedule. Wouldn't be surprised at this point.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is delayed until November 11, 2021, because Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway has moved into Ghostbusters' old spot of June 11, 2021, This marks the film's latest delay after originally being set to open July 10, 2020. The film was first moved to March 5, 2021, before landing on the recently vacated June 11, 2021, date.

We were all warned that the releases between now & maybe April would be on the move & studios are making good on those warnings. At this point, I don't even think May releases like Black Widow or Fast & Furious 9 are safe. Sony Pictures has been vocal about respecting the theatrical window & not selling their films off to streamers or going PVOD so their delays aren't surprising, just disappointing because I know we all hoped the 2021 releases would be safe. Various reports say other release date shifts are probably coming and not just because they're running from COVID-19. As these bigger films find new weekends, some become direct competition for films that were either already on that date or within weeks of that date. The studios are all playing an elaborate game of release date shuffle and it's likely far from over. 

What are YOUR thoughts on Sony's recent delays?