EXCLUSIVE: I hear that Paramount Pictures’ A Quiet Place II is the latest movie to shift release dates in a bid to avoid the widespread disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
UK exhibitors were notified by this morning that the film is moving dates, and with cinemas shuttering across Europe as authorities impose restrictions on public gatherings, the film’s international roll out is likely to be severely disrupted.
Paramount was unavailable for immediate comment. Exhibitors have not been told when the release might be rescheduled.
No confirmation on domestic yet but we hear that Paramount is hosting a conference call at 8am Pacific Time to determine the strategy. Other films that have moved, such as Sony’s Peter Rabbit, shifted the entire global launch for reasons including piracy.
A Quiet Place II had been set to begin its roll out March 18 in international territories, with the UK release on March 19 and domestic bow on March 20.
It is the sequel to John Krasinski’s 2018 horror, in which he starred alongside his wife Emily Blunt in the story of a family navigating a a post-apocalyptic world. The first movie grossed $340M global including $153M from international territories.
The move follows Sony delaying Peter Rabbit 2 by five months earlier this week, and MGM, Eon and Universal postponing the roll-out of James Bond pic No Time To Die from its original launch of April 2 to November 25.
Global coronavirus cases had reached 129,590 positive tests and 4,749 deaths at the time of writing.