Let’s take a quick look at the current movie release slate schedule for October. It’s thin but dangerous. Currently we have Dune releasing on October 1st. Which, atleast as it currently stands will also release that same day on HBO Max. Followed up the next week with The Addams Family II releasing on October 8th. We can now insert Morbius into that same date as it has been officially moved from March to October the 8th. The following week, releasing on October the 15th we have a little film called Halloween Kills.
Oddly, this week has the most competition of them all with Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel starring Ben Affleck also currently scheduled to release October 15th. Followed up with the last film currently on the October slate, Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins on October 22nd.
First off, all of this could and probably will change. The pandemic has made movie scheduling an act about as stable as Courtney Love on amphetamines during a Kurt Loader interview. Anything could happen.
The question I have is….with the vaccine rolling out and hopefully expected to reach the average person by late Spring or maybe Summer. How viable is October for movie theaters at all? Though more and more people will be vaccinated by then, will Hollywood feel comfortable opening just months before the vaccine hits the standard person? I feel like this might be a “hold on just a little bit longer” type of situation.
But who the fuck knows!?!?
What we do know is that Jason Blum promised Halloween Kills would release on October 15th, 2021. “I this is still going on next Halloween? No, we’re not holding it. Halloween Kills is coming out next October come hell or high water, vaccine or no vaccine. It is coming out.” per the man himself. But that doesn’t mean it’s coming out in theaters.
Halloween Kills could possibly go the route of releasing on a streaming service AND in theaters on the same day, much like HBO Max is doing with their films. Or they could release the film in theaters only for a couple of weeks and then release it on VOD as well. Or they could release it only on VOD or a streaming platform.
We know the current state of Dune (Both theaters and HBO Max). With no trailer or much news at all for Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, one would imagine that could be the most obvious candidate for delay. The same could be said for Snake Eyes.
Morbius is the only candidate for a Tenet or New Mutants situation where it is released for an extended amount of time in theaters and in theaters only. I only say this because it’s been delayed multiple times at this point and they may be worried about future cinematic universe timelines and tie ins as well as audience fatigue. They could be banking on Kills and other titles having VOD options, leaving what theaters screens are open at that point to them and them alone.
It’s all very interesting and we’ll have all the updates here on We Watched A Movie so be sure to subscribe to the newsletter below to get notified!