Movie industry dealt devastating blow as ‘Black Widow,’ Marvel slate postponed

Disney’s confidence in movie theaters’ ability to recover in 2020 is waning. On Wednesday, the company pushed back a number of its theatrical releases including Marvel blockbuster “Black Widow.”

The decision isn’t too surprising considering how lackluster ticket sales have been at domestic cinemas since the industry attempted a large-scale reopening in late August. Still, the move is a huge blow to theater operators who were relying on big budget features to coax moviegoers back to auditoriums. 

Already, “Wonder Woman 1984” was displaced from its October release date, leaving a more than month’s long gap between major Hollywood releases. Without “Black Widow,” the next big feature won’t arrive until late November when MGM’s “No Time to Die” and Disney’s Pixar film “Soul” are slated for release.

Disney’s new release schedule:

• “The Empty Man” moved to Oct. 23, 2020
• “Death on the Nile” pushed to Dec. 18, 2020
• “The King’s Man” dated for Feb. 12, 2021
• “Black Widow” will now debut May 7, 2021
• “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” pushed to July 9, 2021
• “Eternals” moves to Nov. 5, 2021
• “Deep Water” now slated for Aug. 13, 2021
• “West Side Story” shifted to Dec. 20, 2021

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.