Universal and DreamWorks Animation have tweaked their 2021 release schedule, moving the sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business from March to September. The shift to the new release date, September 17, had been the spot for DWA’s The Bad Guys, which is unset for now and will get a 2022 release. Universal made the announcement Monday.
Boss Baby 2 had been set for a March 26, 2021 release but most theatrical releases are in flux owing to the coronavirus pandemic that has decimated the domestic exhibition business, which as of now has only 60% of its screens in operation in the U.S. and Canada — and none in the key Los Angeles and New York City markets.
Tom McGrath returns to direct the second installment of the Boss Baby franchise; the first pic grossed more than $500 million worldwide and earned an Animated Feature Oscar nomination. Alec Baldwin also returns as the lead voice for the new film in which the Templeton brothers, Tim (James Marsden) and Ted (Baldwin), have become adults who have drifted apart.
The Bad Guys, based on the blockbuster Scholastic book series by Aaron Blabey, is directed by Pierre Perifel in his feature-helming debut, from a script by Etan Cohen and Hilary Winston. It centers on five notorious bad guys — Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark and Ms. Tarantula — who attempt their most challenging job yet: going good. Damon Ross and Rebecca Huntley are producers; executive producers are Blabey, Cohen, Patrick Hughes and Jeff Berg.