Sony has become the latest studio to shuffle its upcoming release calendar amid the WAG and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has delayed, removed, and dated several of its upcoming films, including multiple Marvel titles. Let’s run down all the changes.
Gran Turismo will now open wide on August 25, 2023, instead of August 11. Sony will also show sneak previews on the weekends of Aug. 11 and Aug. 18 in hopes of using word-of-mouth to get audiences in the theater. “The stars can’t promote the film but the audience can,” said a Sony spokesperson.
Kraven the Hunter is moving from October 6, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as “Sony does not want to release the R-rated action film without a full marketing and publicity push that revolves around Taylor-Johnson, who plays the Spider-Man villain.”
The upcoming Karate Kid movie is also relocating because of the strike, from June 7, 2024, to December 13, 2024. Lastly, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has been removed from the release calendar with no new release date announced. It was originally set for March 29, 2024.
Release date changes that were not strike-related include Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2 or Ghostbusters 4 (or Ghostbusters 5 depending on if you count the reboot) has been delayed from December 20, 2023, to March 29, 2024. Blumhouse title They Listen was removed from its August 30, 2024 release date, and Madame Web is moving up two days to February 14, 2024.
Lastly, the studio also dated two tentpole movies for the first time. Bad Boys 4 will hit theaters on June 14, 2024, and Venom 3 will open on July 12, 2024.
What do you think of the release date changes? Are you disappointed that Kraven was pushed back to 2024?
