James Bond blockbuster delay is ‘a kick in guts’, says Inverness cinema chief as coronavirus fall-out causes major problems for big cinema chains like Cineworld and Odeon
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DELAYS to the release of the new James Bond blockbuster and film legend Steven Spielberg's latest effort are a "kick in the cinematic guts for those of us re-opening independent cinemas", Eden Court's chief has said.
The new Bond flick, No Time To Die, saw its already-delayed release pushed back yet again on Friday – amid producers' fears that a resurgence of Covid-19 will keep film fans away and harm its box office returns.
The film, which was partially shot in the Highlands, will not now see multiplexes before April 2 next year.
Film great Steven Spielberg's remake of classic musical West Side Story will also no longer be released this Christmas, as was originally planned.
The moves immediately sparked news that Cineworld plans to temporarily mothball all of its UK cinemas until next year, with thousands of staff expected to be made redundant in the meantime. It had been counting on major releases like No Time To Die to help bring larger audiences back to its cinemas.
And the chief of the Highlands' biggest independent cinema, Eden Court in Inverness, which is gearing up for a partial reopening sometime this month, has acknowledged that the delays of such releases are a blow for cinemas everywhere.
James Mackenzie-Blackman, chief executive of Eden Court, took to Twitter to share his disappointment at the news.
"The postponement this week of Bond (again) and Spielberg's new West Side Story at Christmas really is a kick in the cinematic guts for those of us re-opening independent cinemas," he said: "It's still relentless out here folks."
Reacting to Cineworld's decision to temporarily close all of its UK and Ireland sites, as well as all 543 of its Regal Cinema outlets in the USA, Mr Mackenzie-Blackman added: "Really concerning. It looks like temporary closures, as opposed to permanent, but nonetheless a huge shift.
"Whether independent, multiplexes, local or international – I’ve always found cinema staff to be deeply knowledgeable about film & passionate about an industry they love."
Eden Court's programmer, Paul MacDonald-Taylor, was also saddened by the news.
He said: "Sad news for all the Cineworld staff today. It's not the fault of films moving to later in the calendar, but of companies who put capitalism (short term profits) over curation and audience development. The arts need proper funding to survive, but loyal audiences are there."
Numerous blockbusters have seen their release dates pushed back in recent months, as movie studios try to avoid losing money as a result of customers staying away in the middle of the pandemic.
One of the few major tentpoles to release this summer, Tenet – which was widely seen as a barometer of how movies might fare during the pandemic – underperformed at the global box office. Its underwhelming returns immediately sparked shifts of other blockbuster releases.
Wonder Woman 1984 – the sequel to 2017's $1bn smash hit Wonder Woman – was pushed back again. Originally slated for a November 1 release last year, its studio Warner Bros initially delayed it until summer 2020 in a bid to maximise profits. But when the pandemic struck, its June release was pushed back until August and then later to October, before being delayed again until Christmas 2020.
Bond film No Time To Die was also originally due to drop in autumn 2019, but the departure of original director Danny Boyle saw its release slip into 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic saw its slated April bow pushed back to autumn. News of its latest delay broke late last week. It will not now reach multiplexes until at least April 2 – a full 18 months later than originally hoped.
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