”Within two or three days, all of a sudden, every job I had lined up was gone,“ Kara Connolly says
Hollywood actors, just like most everyone in just about every industry, have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. And many who can’t count on residuals from $1 billion blockbusters or live in mansions off Sunset Blvd. were stranded and left to wonder how to pay the bills — pretty much overnight.
In interviews with more than a half dozen up-and-coming actors and performers in Los Angeles and New York, a picture emerged of a young creative class that has been stopped in its tracks — with industry careers screeching to a halt and no income coming in from backup jobs in fitness, food service and marketing that have also been decimated by the pandemic.
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Kara Connolly
“Literally within two or three days, all of a sudden, every single job I had lined up was just gone,” Kara Connolly, an actress in the independent film space and SAG-AFTRA member, told TheWrap.
Connolly, who was a double for Emma Stone in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” said all her acting callbacks were canceled because productions had shut down, and her studio sessions for her career as a singer/songwriter were also put on hold because of social distancing policies. Her side gig, working as a contractor for a social media, branding and marketing firm, also dried up due to layoffs.
She noted that freelancers in the entertainment industry are accustomed to “being with other people and going to auditions — and now where you are at home all the time, it totally changes and disrupts everything.” The pain is also felt by aspiring creatives who pay the rent working in non-entertainment industries like restaurants or hotels that have also been impacted by the pandemic.
Also Read: All the TV Productions Suspended or Delayed Due to Coronavirus Pandemic (Updating)
Actor Harley Harrison Yanoff saw his side business running a staffing and catering company, which supplied New York actors with a side hustle as servers while they pursued acting, virtually disappear overnight as events went from 100 a month to virtually zero.
“I was devastated,” Yanoff said. “I thought, here I am with my company frozen, no acting work, Broadway has shut down, film and TV has shut down. There is no way to make money in the world.”
Rhoemi Smith
Rhoemi Smith, whose credits include Apple TV’s “Helpsters” and Patrik-Ian Polk’s indie “The Skinny,” as well as a recent skit with RuPaul on “Saturday Night Live,” said he felt the same sense of unease. “In a matter of days, I went from auditioning for Broadway plays to reconciling how my life and those of my fellow actors would be impacted from a lack of work,” he said. “Once I was let go from my day-to-day job as a retail salesperson, I was very concerned about how I would support myself and what other opportunities were even out there.”
Smith explained that the timing of the shutdown was particular unfortunate since many TV actors were shooting their season finales while others were shooting pilots that have now been interrupted. Still, he credited the guilds for its efforts on behalf of actors like him. “I have to say that SAG-AFTRA and the Actors Fund really stepped up to offer resources for guidance and financial assistance for out-of-work actors and staying afloat in this uncertain time,” he said.
Shu Q
Shu Q, who has been pursuing the performing arts for eight years now, said most of his friends are out of work now and struggling. “There are no tables to serve, no bars to tend, no productions to assist,” he said. “With bill-paying jobs put on hold, artistic gigs are most definitely put to the wayside.”
Laid off from his day job as a receptionist at a corporate law firm, he’s wondering what his next move will be — especially as a Chinese-Canadian immigrant with a work visa who doesn’t qualify for unemployment or the U.S. federal relief fund. Still, he knows he’s not alone in his struggle. “Some are racking up credit card debt, many are running their savings to the ground trying to stay in the city, others have fled home,” he said.
Connolly said “almost every single one” of her friends working in the entertainment industry is out of work, with many texting her about the unease of not knowing how to proceed. “I have a friend who has five kids to feed, and she texted me saying, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to feed them.'”
Natalee Linez
Natalee Linez, an actress whose credits include Freeform’s “Siren” and “Hawaii Five-0,” said she’s in limbo on a project she had just started when the lockdown hit. She had booked a new Starz straight-to-series show on February 14 and flew to New York to film episode 1. She was supposed to fly back March 20 to film episode 3 but soon learned production had pushed. “There is that scary thought — are they going to continue with the show?” Linez said. “I haven’t auditioned for anything, and I keep getting told, ‘You are on hold for this…’ Thank the Heavenly Father I had shot episode 1 so I got paid for that and that will hold me over.”
Between film and TV bookings, Linez had worked on national commercials, but she worries that spots she’s shot for brands like Old Navy are unlikely to air now given the shutdown’s effect on retailers — and so she may not see residuals for that work anytime soon. Worse, there are no commercial bookings in sight because there are no auditions.
“Bills don’t stop,” she added. “If I had no money saved, I would be screwed.”
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Jared Isaac
Jared Isaac, who has worked on shorts like “Love,” “Trending” and “Dreamer,” as well as the feature film “Homecoming Revenge,” said his acting work has dried up completely, and that he is “certainly anxious about financial security.”
He has supported himself between acting gigs with dog-walking and remote data work: “The dog walking has ended too,” he said, noting that home-bound clients are tending to their pets themselves. But, he said, “I’m doubling down on remote work, and I’m creating with my fellow roommates, writing and making an album. We’ve already got two jams and an interlude. The world ain’t ready.”
Brady Lernihan, a Montana native who graduated from East 15 Acting School in London, had just moved to Los Angeles this winter when the pandemic upended the industry.
“Since I only recently started going on auditions in L.A., the impact has been more on financial stability as well as sending in more self-tape auditions. I’ve been using WeAudition, which has been amazing, and they are very organized. Everyone seems to enjoy using their platform,” he explained. But like many others in this industry, he was laid off from his day job as a sales associate for Orangetheory Fitness — and decided to pull out of L.A., at least for the time being.
“I’ve had to come back home to Montana to try and find a day job and save money,” Lernihan said. “But I’m one of the lucky ones to have this opportunity and a supportive family.”
Lauren Elyse Buckley
Lauren Elyse Buckley, who starred in AwesomenessTV’s “Foursome” and has a movie titled “Blame” due out this fall, said her financial position changed very quickly when two short films and a music video were rapidly scrapped in the midst of the virus. She was also being eyed for two roles in projects that are both now in limbo, she added.
“Every artist I know has been completely thrown by this,” she said. “Friends making passion projects on smaller scales that they were going to fund themselves are no longer able to because they’ve been fired from their survival job that was going to pay for the small production. Friends who were working with investors and bigger companies now are unsure the state of those agreements because they don’t know about the financial security of those partners anymore.”
She has been under financial stress as lucrative gigs have suddenly fallen through. “I had these few projects coming up which would have paid a bit, a freelance gig on the books that is most likely canceled and that would have taken care of a full month and a half in rent,” she said. Worse, she said she was laid off from her survival job as a restaurant server. “They can’t afford to have more than just a manager at the restaurant to do takeouts,” she said. “And with the strain this has put on the restaurant, I’m not sure I’ll have a job to go back to when it’s all over.”
Lee Doud
Lee Doud had just worked on a Netflix show when the pandemic hit, causing “a lack of in-person auditions and television productions being on total freeze.”
And working in event management, his day-to-day job has also seen a hit.
“I work as an event producer in my day-to-day, so that job has certainly been affected during all of this,” he told TheWrap. “Many events have been postponed until the fall or canceled entirely – something that I’ve not seen happen before. This also, subsequently, affects the people who work in jobs like brand promotion, spokesmodeling, and catering – all jobs that working actors and artists have typically relied on in between opportunities in film and television. I think it will take a little bit of time for people to feel comfortable gathering in large groups again, so we’ve been forced to get creative by hosting virtual events and live streams in the meantime.”
Albina Katsman
Albina Katsman, who recently released her own short-form YouTube comedy series “So Foreign,” with Mariana Brassaroto, and who just starred in “Alone” for Amazon Prime Video, was ready to go into production on two projects with her production company when California’s “stay at home” order hit — and everything quickly changed.
“At first when this whole thing started, I thought there was no way this would all get shut down, it was really surreal,” Katsman said. Auditions were still going on in the early days, she explained, but then her survival job as a fitness instructor disappeared when The Studio (MDR) shut its doors.
But she quickly found a way to use the situation to her advantage. “As soon as I realized people are working from home and would need to work out somehow, I wrote a routine and started filming my workout videos,” she said.
She’s been taking donations on her workout videos on Instagram Live, which she posts every day, and has pivoted to helping her dad in his real estate business, while also home-schooling her brother (for which she doesn’t get paid). “It’s about being frugal and counting every penny,” she added. “But what happens when people can’t donate $15 a class, what happens when my parents have two other kids, what if they can’t help me — what am I going to do? Are there going to be auditions when this is over? Is there going to be artistry that people are going to pay money for?”
Also Read: Lionsgate Continues Marketing, Distribution Layoffs Amid Restructuring
Brady Lernihan
For many actors, days are spent adjusting to the new norm. Connolly has been taking meetings on Zoom and working on her songs on Audiomovers, a software that lets you edit and watch other people edit over the computer. She has also been hosting meditation sessions and concerts for free on Facebook.
“I’ve still been been able to produce out the songs, but ultimately, to finish them, I need the quarantine to end,” she said. “Because I have to record vocals. I don’t have the technology to do that at home. Across the board, everything kind of shifted.”
She noted that many are getting creative by using their skills, holding livestream concerts, setting up tutoring sessions for kids who are out of school, holding private meditation or exercise sessions. “So many of my singer/songwriter friends have been placing their PayPal addresses on Facebook when they do their videos, telling viewers to feel free to donate or tip,” she said.
Lernihan has been polishing up on monologues and learning more about camera technique through Masterclass and the YouTube channel Indy Mogul. “As most people say, Be the most prepared person in the room.” He noted one positive thing about how the virus has shifted things: “What I’m seeing now is casting directors and other filmmakers trying to find new talent and rediscover others and it’s actually been great to be a part of.”
Harley Harrison Yanoff
Harley Harrison Yanoff, the actor-turned-caterer, said he had an “epiphany” thinking about all the kids now stuck at home, away from their friends, as well as fellow actors now looking for work. Before his move to New York, Yanoff had started a summer theater camp that he helped run for 13 straight summers. He decided to pivot his summer camp to online sessions he dubbed Broadway From Home.
“We are working with other kids in a classroom setting where we are working on scenes and performing for each other,” he explained. “It ended up selling out within two hours… I started calling up actor friends of mine and it started snowballing — here is an opportunity to employ other actors as teachers in online settings. I took the camp model and I put it online. It’s exploding to the point where it started as once a week but now it’s five days a week. I’m getting emails from current Broadway actors to be involved.”
Yanoff charges $39 per class, with a two-day workshop costing $75. He has a core team of 10 employees, with plans to employ more due to the increase in programming. Thirty people attend these session, with three to six people in the smaller scene sections.
“There is this light in this small corner of the world, but it is revolutionizing the way we are able to work with students and keep people employed,” he explained, adding that some portion of the proceeds will go to charity.
Yanoff hopes to continue the online theater camp even after the pandemic subsides. “This has given me purpose,” he said. “This was a company borne out of our situation, but this is a lasting thing.”
Shu Q had one message for his fellow actors: “To my fellow artists, it is most important to keep our heads up. This too shall pass. Weather the storm and keep making art. Read a play, sing a song, take a selfie. Share your gifts, spread love and kindness.”
For the record: This story has been updated to include more voices.
All the Movies Suspended or Delayed Due to Coronavirus Pandemic (Updating)
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Disney/MGM/Warner Bros.As the coronavirus continues to spread, an increasing number of movies are delaying or suspending production. As the number of impacted movies grows, TheWrap felt it would be most informative to keep a running list.
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Photo credit: Universal"No Time to Die"
MGM, Universal and Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of "No Time to Die" will be postponed until November 2020.
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Photo credit: Paramount
"A Quiet Place Part II"
Director John Krasinski announced on Instagram that the horror sequel's March theatrical release would be delayed amid the growing spread of the coronavirus around the globe. Paramount has now dated the film for release on Sept. 4.
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Photo credit: Sony
“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway”
"Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway" was one of the first films delayed as part of the coronavirus, with Sony pushing its late March release to Aug. 7. But as the shutdowns continued, Sony juggled its release slate so that the family film will now open Jan. 15, 2021.
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Photo credit: Universal
"Fast and Furious 9"
The release of the next “Fast & Furious” installment, “F9,” has been delayed from May 22 to now opening on April 2, 2021.
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Paramount/Netflix
"The Lovebirds"
Paramount postponed the April 3 theatrical release of the romantic comedy “The Lovebirds" starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani after its SXSW premiere was also canceled. Netflix then acquired the film from Paramount and debuted it on May 22.
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Photo credit: Paramount
"Blue Story"
Paramount postponed the theatrical release UK gang film "Blue Story," which was set to open on March 20. The film then premiered on digital on May 5.
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Strand Releasing
"The Artist's Wife"
Strand Releasing and Water's End Productions delayed the limited release of the Bruce Dern and Lena Olin film "The Artist's Wife." The film was meant to open in New York on April 3 in Los Angeles on April 10 and in San Francisco on April 17. No new release date has been set.
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IFC Films
"The Truth"
Hirokazu Kore-eda's film "The Truth" from IFC Films will postpone its March 20 domestic release to now open at an unspecified date in summer 2020. The film is in both French and English starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke and has already opened in some overseas markets. IFC Films has set a new release date for July 3.
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Disney
"Mulan"
Disney postponed the release of its blockbuster, live-action remake of the animated film "Mulan" from March 27 to now open on July 24. The shift was part of a big shuffle of films Disney made to its release calendar on April 3.
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20th Century Studios
"The New Mutants"
After numerous delays, 20th Century's X-Men spinoff "The New Mutants" was also pushed back by Disney "out of an abundance of caution." The film from director Josh Boone was meant to open April 3. The film will now open Aug. 28, 2020.
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Searchlight Pictures
"Antlers"
"Antlers," an indie horror film from director Scott Cooper starring Keri Russell, was also pushed back by Disney and Searchlight Pictures from its April 17 release. No new release date has been set.
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Marvel
"Black Widow" and the MCU
In a restructuring of its entire release calendar, Disney pushed back every Marvel movie in the cinematic universe. "Black Widow" was meant to open on May 1, but will now shift back to the slot previously occupied by "The Eternals" on Nov. 6.“Eternals” is moving to February 12, 2021, “Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings” will open May 7, 2021, and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is shifting to Nov. 5, 2021. The changes also affected Marvel's slate for 2022 with “Thor: Love and Thunder” opening Feb. 18, 2022, “Black Panther 2” shifting to May 8, 2022, and “Captain Marvel 2,” which was not previously dated, is now set for a July 8, 2022 release.
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Untitled Elvis Movie
Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic starring Austin Butler ceased production in Australia after co-star Tom Hanks (playing Presley manager Col. Parker) and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for COVID-19. The planned release date was also bumped back one month to now open Nov. 5, 2021.
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Paramount Pictures
"Mission: Impossible 7 and 8"
In late February, Paramount's action sequel halted production in Italy on the Tom Cruise action sequel. Paramount on April 24 also bumped the release dates of both films, with "M:I 7" moving to November 19, 2021 from its July 2021 release date, and the eighth film also moving back to Nov. 4, 2022 from its summer release.
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"The Nightingale"
Sony postponed the Budapest shoot of the drama starring real-life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning.
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"Birds of Paradise"
Amazon Studios halted production in Budapest on director Sarah Adina Smith's ballet drama.
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Universal Pictures
"Jurassic World: Dominion"
Universal put a pause on production on the third "Jurassic World" in March after four weeks of shooting had been completed in the UK for a 20-week shoot. Production will resume on July 6, and the film is expected to be released on June 11, 2021.
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"Flint Strong"
Universal also halted production on this boxing biopic starring Ice Cube and Ryan Destiny.
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"Man From Toronto"
Sony delayed the start of production on the action comedy starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson (who stepped in to replace Jason Statham).
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"Official Competition"
Spanish studio Mediapro suspended production on the new comedy starring Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.
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Warner Bros.
"The Batman"
On March 14, Warner Bros. halted the U.K. production on Matt Reeve's DC Films reboot for at least two weeks. The film stars Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader. On April 20, Warner Bros. officially shifted the release date back four months to Oct. 1 from its originally planned June 2021 release date. The shift also pushed back some other DC titles, including "The Flash" to June 3, 2022 and "Shazam 2!" to Nov. 4, 2022.
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"Samaritan"
On March 14, MGM paused production on the Sylvester Stallone thriller. The film had been shooting in Atlanta.
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"Cinderella"
Sony's modernized take on "Cinderella" from director Kay Cannon and starring Camila Cabello will put its production on hiatus due to the travel ban extension to the UK. The film was shooting at Pinewood Studios.
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Warner Bros.
"Fantastic Beasts 3"
The third installment of J.K. Rowling's "Fantastic Beasts" series that's spun off from the Harry Potter universe will postpone its production that was scheduled to begin in March in the U.K. The film stars Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Katherine Waterston.
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Warner Bros.
"The Matrix 4"
Production on "The Matrix 4" was temporarily put on hold in March, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap. The sequel starring Keanu Reeves was in production in Berlin, Germany.
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A24
"First Cow"
After releasing Kelly Reichardt's "First Cow" in limited release on March 6, the distributor announced Monday it will re-release the film in theaters later this year.
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Greenwich Entertainment
"Deerskin"
The theatrical release of the indie film "Deerskin" from director Quentin Dupieux starring Jean Dujardin has been postponed until further notice. Greenwich Entertainment meant to release the film on March 20 after it played at Cannes, TIFF and Fantastic Fest. The movie will now open via a virtual cinema offering on May 1.
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Getty Images/Naughty Dog
"Uncharted"
“Uncharted,” the film adaptation of the popular PlayStation video game franchise starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Banderas, was unable to begin production in March amid coronavirus concerns. As part of a larger shuffle of Sony's release slate, the most recent release date for the film was also shifted back from March 2021 to Oct. 8, 2021.
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Sony Pictures Classics
"The Climb"
Sony Pictures Classics' indie comedy "The Climb," which played at Sundance this year, was meant to hit theaters March 20 and will now be released on Oct. 9.
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20th Century Studios
"Avatar"
The sequels to James Cameron's four "Avatar" sequels delayed shooting in New Zealand indefinitely, according to the film's producer Jon Landau speaking to the New Zealand Herald. The executive team was to fly to Wellington, NZ on Friday but will remain in Los Angeles due to the coronavirus. Landau said he couldn't give an answer as to when production would resume and when the local Kiwi crew could get back to work. "If I told you we are going to know something in two weeks I'd be lying. I might not be wrong - even a broken clock is right twice a day. But I would be lying because I don't know," Landau said. "We're in the midst of a global crisis and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say here, to flatten the curve."
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Searchlight Pictures
"The Personal History of David Copperfield"
Searchlight Studios was meant to release "Veep" creator Armando Iannucci's comedic take on the Charles Dickens novel on May 8. It will now open in limited release on August 14.
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20th Century Studios
"The Woman in the Window"
The Amy Adams mystery thriller from director Joe Wright, "The Woman in the Window" was meant to open in theaters on May 15 from 20th Century Studios. No new release date has been set.
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Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Bull"
The theatrical release of the Annie Silverstein indie drama "Bull" was postponed from its March 20 release and will now open on VOD and digital on May 1. The film has toured the festival circuit since making its debut at Cannes in 2019.
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Universal
"Minions: The Rise of Gru"
The latest "Minions" movie "The Rise of Gru" was postponed from its release date on July 3. Illumination Entertainment's Paris office was forced to shut down due to the coronavirus, so the film was not able to be finished in time. Universal will release the film on July 2, 2021, a full year after its initial date.
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Warner Bros.
"Wonder Woman 1984"
The sequel to "Wonder Woman" starring Gal Gadot will now hit theaters on Oct. 2 after first being pushed back from its June 5 release date and again from Aug. 12.
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Warner Bros.
"In the Heights"
The movie musical based on Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage production "In the Heights" was postponed by Warner Bros. from its June 26 release date and bumped to June 18, 2021.
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Getty Images
"Malignant"
"Malignant," a horror film from director James Wan, was pushed indefinitely from its release date on Aug. 14 to clear the way for "Wonder Woman 1984" to open at the tail end of the summer.
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Sony
"Peter Rabbit 2," "Morbius" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife"
In a sweeping overhaul of its release slate, Sony moved three films it had scheduled for release this summer to the first quarter of 2021. The "Peter Rabbit" sequel will now be released in January 2021 while both "Morbius" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" have been moved to next March. -
Sony
"Greyhound"
Sony has moved a WWII drama written by and starring Tom Hanks off of its mid-June release date and partnered with Apple to release the film on Apple TV+ in early July. -
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"Wicked"
Universal has removed the movie musical adaptation of “Wicked” from its release slate from its original date on Dec. 22, 2021, and will be redated at a later time.
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Illumination
"Sing 2"
Illumination’s “Sing 2” will now open in the place vacated by “Wicked” on Universal's release slate on Dec. 22, 2021.
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Paramount
"Top Gun: Maverick"
The sequel to the 1985 hit starring Tom Cruise has been pushed back from June 24 to December 23, 2020.
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Universal
"Candyman"
Universal's horror film "Candyman" from director Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele will move from its June 12 release date to Sept. 25, 2020.
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Photographed by Ian Spanier for TheWrap
"Praise This"
The Will Packer-produced musical comedy "Praise This" about a church choir was delayed from its Sept. 25 release date and will be re-added to the slate by Universal at a later date.
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Paramount Animation
"The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run"
Paramount originally shifted the animated "Spongebob" movie from its release date on May 22 to open on August 7, but it will now debut in early 2021 on premium VOD followed by the rebranded CBS All Access.
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Disney
"Jungle Cruise"
With the shift of "Mulan," Disney moved the release of the Dwayne Johnson adventure comedy "Jungle Cruise" back a full year to July 30, 2021.
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20th Century Fox/Disney
"Free Guy"
The Ryan Reynolds video game comedy was meant to open July 3 but will now open Dec. 11.
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Searchlight Pictures
"The French Dispatch"
Director Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” moved from July 24, 2020 to Oct. 16, 2020 as part of Disney's shift of its entire release calendar.
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Paramount
Untitled Indiana Jones
The fifth Indiana Jones movie starring Harrison Ford has already shifted its release date in response to Disney's wave of other release changes. It will now open July 29, 2022.
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Photograph by Steven Gerlich for TheWrap
"Nobody"
Universal's "Nobody," a revenge thriller and action movie starring Bob Odenkirk from the writer of "John Wick" and the producers of "Atomic Blonde," was delayed from its Aug. 14, 2020 release date to now open on Feb. 26, 2021. As a result, an untitled M. Night Shyamalan thriller that was slated for that day is now undated and will be re-added to the calendar later.
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Walt Disney Studios/Pixar
"Soul" and "Raya and the Last Dragon"
Disney and Pixar's "Soul" was moved from its June release date to open on Nov. 20. It's now opening near where the Disney Animation Studios film "Raya and the Last Dragon" was meant to open. That movie will now debut March 12, 2021. It filled the slot of an unnamed Disney live-action film that has now been removed from the slate.
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Getty Images
"Infinite"
The latest film from director Antoine Fuqua starring Mark Wahlberg, "Infinite," was pushed back by Paramount from its Aug. 7 release date to now open on Memorial Day weekend, May 28, 2021. The film is currently in post-production, and while "Infinite" wasn't explicitly pushed back due to the coronavirus, the new date allows the studio more time to ramp up the film's original intellectual property.
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Getty Images
"The Many Saints of Newark"
The prequel to "The Sopranos" that follows a young Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini's son Michael Gandolfini, during the 1960s Newark riots was pushed to 2021, now opening on March 12, 2021 after originally being slated for a September 2020 release.
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Getty Images
"King Richard"
The biopic about the life of tennis great Richard Williams starring Will Smith was pushed from its November 2020 release date to now opening almost a full year later on Nov. 19, 2021.
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Sony
"Venom: Let There Be Carnage"
While the "Venom" sequel did get a new title from Sony in its latest update, "Let There Be Carnage," it also found itself pushed back from an October release to now open on June 25, 2021.
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Getty Images
"Dungeons & Dragons"
Paramount's movie based on the "Dungeons & Dragons" game from the directors of "Game Night," John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, has been delayed from a November 2021 release date to May 27, 2022.
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Starz
"Spell"
Paramount's horror film starring Omari Hardwick that was set for release in August of this year was pulled from the release calendar, with no new date set as of yet.
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Lionsgate
"John Wick: Chapter 4"
The fourth movie in the Keanu Reeves action franchise "John Wick" was moved back a full year to now open May 27, 2022. Lionsgate also juggled several of its other big releases to 2021 and 2022, including "Fatale" (10/30/20), "Voyagers" (11/25/20), "The Asset" (4/23/21), "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar" (7/16/21), "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" (8/20/21) and "American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story" (12/10/21). Further, the films "Run" and "Jesus Revolution" are both without release dates.
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Lionsgate
"Antebellum"
Lionsgate's horror movie "Antebellum" starring Janelle Monáe was moved from its April release date to now being the studio's next most earliest release in 2020 on Aug. 21.
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Universal
"The Forever Purge"
The fifth film in "The Purge" horror franchise was meant to open in theaters on July 10 of this year but was pulled from the release calendar. No new date has been set as of yet.
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Courtesy of Sundance Institute/Focus Features
"Kajillionaire"
"Kajillionaire," the latest film from director Miranda July that made its debut at Sundance and stars Debra Winger, Richard Jenkins and Evan Rachel Wood, has been pushed from its planned June release date to now open Sept. 18, 2020. However, the film will still open theatrically in a limited release.
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Getty Images
"Everybody's Talking About Jamie"
20th Century Studios' adaptation of the stage musical about a teenage drag queen stars Max Harwood and Richard E. Grant. It was meant to open Oct. 23, 2020 but will now open Jan. 22, 2021.
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Photo Courtesy of Apple Corps Ltd.
"The Beatles: Get Back"
"The Beatles: Get Back," a documentary from Peter Jackson about the Fab Four's time recording the "Let It Be" album and culminating in their historic rooftop concert, was pushed back from a fall release on Sept. 4, 2020 to now open Aug. 27, 2021.
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"The Broken Hearts Gallery"
Selena Gomez-produced rom-com “The Broken Hearts Gallery” is the story of Lucy, a 20-something art gallery assistant living in New York who, after her latest breakup, decides to create a pop-up art space of artifacts from past relationships. The film which was scheduled to be released on Aug. 7, has been pulled from the release schedule with its release date to be determined. -
"Greenland"
“Greenland,” a disaster thriller which stars Gerard Butler, along with the rest of humanity, tries to escape a massive comet that threatens to make all life on Earth extinct. Originally scheduled to be released on August 14, the film has been pushed a month to September 25.
Release slates for 2021 and beyond are taking shape as studios look to write off summer 2020
As the coronavirus continues to spread, an increasing number of movies are delaying or suspending production. As the number of impacted movies grows, TheWrap felt it would be most informative to keep a running list.
Beatrice Verhoeven
Film Editor, Twitter: @bverhoev