Over the last three months, I made five videos about drive-ins and movie theaters. A constant theme that ties them all together was the rescheduling of “Tenet,” “Mulan,” and, recently, “Bill & Ted Face The Music.” Just when you think the studios finished rearranging the schedules, they reschedule everything again. Will the studios stick to newest release dates or reschedule everything all over again?
Tenet
“Tenet” got postpone every two weeks through July and early August before Warner Brothers pulled it off the schedule. Some speculated that “Tenet” could open in December if “Dune” rescheduled to summer 2021. And then Warner Brothers announced the new release dates for “Tenet” a few days later.
The international release date is August 26th. Many countries around the world has the pandemic under control to reopen of movie theaters.
The American release date in select U.S. cities is September 3rd. That should be interesting since the pandemic is spiraling out of control in the U.S. The three largest movie markets—New York City, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area—probably won’t have any movie theaters reopened.
Mulan
Disney will do whatever it wants regardless of the agreement between AMC Theaters and Universal Studios on theater runs and premium video-on-demand. The House of Mouse did exactly that. “Mulan” will be an exclusive premium video-on-demand for its Disney Plus network.
Most premium video-on-demand cost $20 to $25 USD. “Mulan” will cost $30 USD if you already have a Disney Plus subscription. Or $37 USD, if you need a subscription. Disney Plus members can access “Mulan” if they continue their subscription.
“Mulan” will premiere on September 4th.
Bill & Ted Face The Music
“Bill & Ted Face The Music” moved from August 21st to September 1st for release in theaters and premium video-on-demand. Shortly thereafter, “Tenet” and “Mulan” announced their release dates for the Labor Day weekend. “Face The Music” will come out a week earlier on August 28th to avoid the crowds and keep social distancing from the other movies.
It’s been a crazy six months for the movie industry. Theaters have all but lost the ability to dictate terms to the studios. The studios are exploring new opportunities like limited theater runs and premium video-on- demand. And Disney being Disney. Will everything settle down towards the end of August? Maybe, maybe not.