Fears over the strike’s potential impact on theatrical releases were realized this week when Sony became the first major studio to push back release dates for its upcoming movies. Most notably, the studio shifted its release date for KRAVEN THE HUNTER from 10/6/23 to 8/30/24, and its still-untitled GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE sequel from 12/20/23 to 3/29/24. The wide release date for the upcoming GRAND TURISMO shifted by two weeks from 8/11/23 to 8/25/23.
In 2024, the second half of the highly anticipated sequel SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE which had been expected on 3/29/24 was moved off that date, without any new date specified. BAD BOYS 4 and VENOM 3 were slated for 6/14/23 and 7/12/23 respectively.
The elimination of KRAVEN and GHOSTBUSTERS from the 2023 release calendar presents a real concern for exhibitors, as the fall schedule had already been viewed as light in comparison with the first half of the year. Rumors that the DUNE and AQUAMAN sequels may also get bumped are bringing flashbacks to the worst of times of 2020 and 2021, when studios would routinely push back theatrical release dates and shift titles to streaming.