A Quiet Place Part 2 and Top Gun: Maverick are both delayed once more, as Paramount attempts to preserve their cinematic releases despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Variety reports. Both films are now planned for release in 2021, with A Quiet Place Part 2 releasing on April 23 and Top Gun: Maverick on July 2. They had been due to release on September 6 and December 23 of this year, respectively, following previous coronavirus-related delays.
The two are just the latest in a slew of movies to have their release plans thrown into disarray due to the coronavirus pandemic. Just this week Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Disney’s live-action Mulan remake were delayed indefinitely, and other films including the new James Bond and Peter Rabbit 2 have also had their release dates shifted.
As the pandemic has upended the cinema industry, film studios have seemingly faced a tough decision: delay their films or forgo their cinematic releases in favor of releasing on streaming services. Disney has taken the latter approach for some of its films including Artemis Fowl and Hamilton, which have gone straight to Disney Plus, but Paramount’s presidents of domestic and international theatrical distribution, Chris Aronson and Mark Viane, said the company wanted to preserve the cinematic movie-going experience.
“We truly believe that there is no movie-viewing experience like the one enjoyed in theatres,” Aronson and Viane said in a statement reported by Variety. However, with an estimated production cost of over $150 million for the Top Gun sequel, holding out for lucrative ticket sales will have undoubtedly played a part in Paramount’s decision, as it has for other studios.
Many cinemas are yet to reopen their doors after closing due to health concerns. After initially hoping to reopen in July, AMC Theatres in the US this week said that it now hopes to open its theaters in August, CNN reports.