No Time To Die Release Delayed By Seven Months

Universal Pictures

The release date of No Time To Die has been delayed by seven months, the film’s producers confirmed today, March 4.

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli made the shock announcement alongside MGM and Universal in a statement shared to social media.

The upcoming Bond film will now be released in November instead of the anticipated April, news which will no doubt be devastating to fans of the franchise.

The statement cited a ‘thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace’ as the reason behind the delay, adding the decision was made after ‘careful consideration’.

Initially expected to be released in the UK on April 2, 2020, the film has now been postponed until November 12. Worldwide release dates will follow, including the US launch on November 25.

The news comes after the founders of two of the most popular James Bond fan sites asked the studios behind the film to delay its release due to coronavirus.

Universal Pictures

The open letter, from the founders of MI6 Confidential and The James Bond Dossier, James Page and David Leigh, urged MGM and Universal to ‘put public health above marketing release schedules’.

The letter continued, as per BBC News:

With a month to go before No Time to Die opens worldwide, community spread of the virus is likely to be peaking in the United States.

There is a significant chance that cinemas will be closed, or their attendance severely reduced, by early April. Even if there are no legal restrictions on cinemas being open, to quote M in Skyfall, ‘How safe do you feel?’

However, Deadline understands the decision to push the release date back is ‘purely an economic’ one, and not one ‘based on growing fears over the coronavirus’.

Universal Pictures

Basically, in order for the film to perform well in the box office, MGM and Universal need the film to perform well in every foreign territory – and they can’t guarantee that at the moment.

China’s box office alone has plummeted $1.91 billion over the first two months of this year due to the lock-down that’s in place because of the coronavirus outbreak, and this would ultimately have a significant impact on the film’s global take.

Fans of the franchise described the decision as ‘totally ridiculous’, with one person writing: ‘WAAAIIIIIT. WAAAIIIITTT. NNNOOOO!!! But I bought tickets for them already!!’

Another person wrote:

I know Bond traditionally has that slot – but this sounds quite a knee jerk reaction. Not to mention barking mad! What about those of us who bought advanced cinema tickets? This mess never happened with Sony.

Prior to this announcement, stars had been expected to turn out for the world premiere of the film at the Royal Albert Hall in London on March 31.

No Time To Die will now be released in the UK on November 12 and the US on November 25.

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Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).