The ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes happening in the US and the consequent absence of big stars from promotions etc. are affecting Hollywood in a big way. Just a few hours back, it was revealed that Sony Pictures has postponed / shuffled many of its highly anticipated films. And as a result, 2024 is going to be a super busy year for theatrical releases. Here’s what Sony’s theatrical calendar now looks like after the latest delays.
For instance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s superhero flick ‘Kraven the Hunter’, which is supposed to be the sixth film of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, has been postponed from its earlier 6th October 2023 release date and will now release on 30th August 2024. Because the film’s lead actor wouldn’t have been available to promote the film in a big way, which would have affected its theatrical prospects.
Likewise, another big Sony project – the animated superhero movie ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ will no longer release in theatres on 29th March 2024 and it has been indefinitely delayed apparently because of incompletion of voice acting work. A new date is expected in the near future.
The next Sony film which has been delayed is the ‘Karate Kid’ reboot. It was previously slated for a theatrical release on 7th June 2024 but will now be released on 13th December 2024.
Furthermore, the ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ sequel starring Paul Rudd has also been postponed from 20th December 2023 to 29th March 2024.
Sony’s very next film – Neil Blomkamp’s high-octane racing movie ‘Gran Turismo’ was supposed to be released on 11th August 2023. But now, the movie starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom is set for a wide theatrical release on 25th August 2023. So, it’s a two weeks’ delay for this one.
Besides the aforementioned delays for Sony’s upcoming theatrical releases, one film has been preponed by two days. Dakota Johnson’s Spider-Man universe-based movie ‘Madame Web’, which was initially scheduled to release on 16th February 2024, will now release on 14th February 2024.
Moreover, two eagerly anticipated Sony films namely ‘Venom 3’ and ‘Bad Boys 4’ have got their release dates. ‘Venom 3’ is set to release in theatres on 12th July 2024 and ‘Bad Boys 4’ has received a theatrical release date of 14th June 2024. And it won’t be just Sony’s films which will be affected by the dual strikes. Other studios too are expected to announce the new release dates for their films. Let’s just hope that the demands pertaining to the writers’ and actors’ strikes are met soon so that there are nor further delays for the Hollywood film industry.