Wonder Woman 1984, In the Heights officially delayed

The Wonder Woman sequel is the latest Hollywood blockbuster to be pulled from its scheduled release date.

The highly anticipated comic book sequel Wonder Woman 1984 has now been pulled from release.

The DC movie was due for release in early June but has now been pushed back in the schedule. In the US, its revised date is August 14, but there is no confirmation yet on when the Gal Gadot blockbuster will open in Australia.

Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins said in a tweet: “We made Wonder Woman 1984 for the big screen and I believe in the power of cinema.

“In these terrible times, when theatre owners are struggling as so many are, we are excited to re-date our film to August 14th 2020 (in the US) in a theatre near you, and pray for better times for all by then.”

Wonder Woman 1984 had previously been slated for a late 2019 release and had already been delayed to June this year.

Warner Bros also delayed the release of In the Heights, a movie adaptation of Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda’s stage musical – that was originally slated for a late-June release. Also bumped is James Wan’s thriller Malignant and animated feature Scoob.

In these dark and scary times, I am looking forward to a brighter future ahead. Where we can share the power of cinema together again. Excited to redate our WW84 film to August 14, 2020. I hope everyone is safe. Sending my love to you all. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nzPUM7uQ1n

— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) March 24, 2020

Wonder Woman 1984 follows a long line of high-profile releases delayed by movie studios in response to the coronavirus pandemic as cinemas across the world are forced shut.

The first movie to be delayed was Bond movie No Time to Die, which was rescheduled for November. In the days after, a slew of films including Mulan, Peter Rabbit 2, A Quiet Place Part II, The Woman in the Window , The New Mutants , Black Widow and Fast & Furious 9 followed.

Wonder Woman 1984 is the first movie to be delayed from what is traditionally known as the US summer blockbuster season. The next notable film on the calendar which has not officially been moved yet is the Top Gun sequel Maverick, which was due to bow in July.

Coronavirus has disrupted industries all over the world, including the arts and entertainment business which is looking to be at least tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue.

The Chinese box office, the second biggest market in the world after the US, was down almost $US2 billion in the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2019. China, where the coronavirus was first discovered, closed its 70,000 cinemas in late January.

Theatres have started to reopen in China after some lockdown restrictions were lifted but patrons have been reluctant to show up.

Chris Pine as Steve Trevor in a scene from film Wonder Woman 1984 Warner Bros Pictures

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The Australian federal government ordered all cinemas locally to shut the previous Sunday, resulting in the loss or stand-down of 17,000 jobs in the sector.

In a statement the Australian National Association of Cinema Operators executive director Michael Hawkins said: “The movie business has faced off against many adversaries over the years – world wars, depressions, the Global Financial Crisis, television, video and DVD, and piracy to name a few – ad has not just survived by thrived for one simple reason, the cinema experience is unique.

“The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented in its scale and impact, but this too shall pass – and when it is safe to reopen and populate our cinemas, there will be a raft of excellent movies for our patrons to enjoy.”

Some studios have responded to the loss of theatrical releases by expediting the premiere of recently released movies to video-on-demand, streaming and digital rental. In the US, titles including The Invisible Man, Emma, Bloodshot and Birds of Prey have already been released on digital platforms.

There are no plans at present to follow suit in Australia.

One Universal title, Trolls World Tour, will be directly released on video-on-demand in the US, but has been held back for a cinematic debut in Australia in September.

Paramount sold one of its delayed movies, The Lovebirds , to Netflix which will release it on the streaming platform. No date is set yet.

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