James Bond Avoids COVID-19... '007' New Release Delayed by 7 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Jonggil Lee] The film series ‘007,’ which depicts the exploits of James Bond, has postponed its release due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

MGM, the production and distribution company of the new ‘007’ series film ‘No Time to Die,’ announced on the 4th (local time) that the release date would be delayed from April to November. MGM and overseas distributor Universal explained on Twitter that “after carefully considering the global film market situation, we decided to postpone the release date.”

This is due to the impact of COVID-19’s spread. As the global film market, including China, rapidly contracted, the release date was delayed by seven months. With theaters in China completely closed, it was judged that poor box office performance would lead to deteriorating profitability. In fact, of the $679 million overseas box office revenue of the previous ‘007’ series film ‘Spectre,’ released in 2015, $84 million was earned from the Chinese market.

Accordingly, ‘No Time to Die’ will be screened in the UK on November 12. It will be shown in theaters worldwide, including the United States, starting November 25.

The spread of COVID-19 is also affecting the entire Hollywood industry. Paramount, which is producing the seventh installment of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series, postponed local filming schedules in Venice after COVID-19 spread in Italy. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog,’ which adapted Sega’s game series to the screen, also postponed its release date in China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.