‘Trolls World Tour’ has filled the release date slot vacated by ‘No Time To Die’.
Universal confirmed on Wednesday (04.03.20) that the 25th James Bond movie has been pushed back until November, and now Dreamworks have moved their ‘Trolls’ sequel forward to plug the Easter gap left empty by 007.
According to Deadline, the computer-animated musical comedy film was due to drop on April 17th, but is now expected to be released on April 10th instead.
A statement issued on the official James Bond Twitter account confirmed the forthcoming Bond film – Daniel Craig’s final outing as the suave spy – had been pushed back by seven months.
It read: "MGM, Universal and Bond producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, announced today that after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace, the release of NO TIME TO DIE will be postponed until November 2020.
"The film will be released in the U.K. on November 12, 2020 with worldwide release dates to follow, including the US launch on November 25, 2020. (sic)"
The decision comes following the coronavirus outbreak around the world.
When the virus first began to spread, publicity tours for the film – which had been due to have its world premiere in London on 31 March – were scrapped in China, South Korea and Japan, and the Hong Kong release was delayed until 30 April.
Earlier in the week, die-hard Bond fans begged MGM and Universal to delay the release of the movie in an open letter after an Asian promotional tour for the 25th film was axed.
An open letter from James Page and David Leigh, the founders of fan sites MI6 Confidential and The James Bond Dossier, claimed it was time for MGM and Universal "to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of cancelling publicity events".
The coronavirus situation could have hit box office takings by up to tens of millions of pounds globally. It comes after China was the highest grossing foreign country for the previous Bond film, ‘Spectre’.
Trolls World Tour fills No Time To Die release date gap
