The horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II and action thriller follow-up Fast & Furious 9 are being postponed over fears linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
The follow-up to the 2018 hit A Quiet Place was due to launch globally from 18 March but director John Krasinski announced on Thursday on Instagram that it would be moving to an as-yet-unspecified date.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together,” he wrote. “Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for you all to see this movie … I’m gonna wait to release the film until we CAN see it together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”
The first film made over $340m worldwide and the sequel was projected to open with at least $60m.
The announcement follows on from word that Fast & Furious 9 will move from May this year to April 2021 while the Bond thriller No Time to Die, romantic comedy The Lovebirds and kids sequel Peter Rabbit 2 have both abandoned their upcoming dates. Cinemas across the globe have been shutting out of fears of spreading the virus further, including all screens in Italy and China.
While cinemas across the US remain open, a survey this week showed that 38% of American adults would support nationwide closures. The same report also showed that 21% of respondents signed up for a streaming service since January partly because of the coronavirus.
Last weekend saw underwhelming returns for Disney and Pixar’s new adventure Onward. Disney has yet to alter plans to release its live-action remake of Mulan on 27 March although, with a $200m budget, the film will rely heavily on international box office to make a profit.
It’s estimated that the pandemic will have a $5bn impact on the global box office.
