Sony Pictures Entertainment on Friday delayed several high-profile movies amid the writers and actors strikes that have roiled the industry.
The studio pushed back the release of two movies that had been slated to arrive in theaters before the end of the year: an untitled fourth installment in the “Ghostbusters” franchise and “Kraven the Hunter,” an action thriller about a character who appears in Marvel comic books.
Sony postponed some marquee 2024 releases, too. The animated spectacle “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” will not be ready in time for its original March 29 debut, and the studio said it was “considering several dates depending on how long the strike lasts.” The movie is a sequel to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” one of 2023’s biggest hits.
The list of postponed movies includes projects that have already wrapped filming and postproduction, such as “Gran Turismo.” The racing drama will move from Aug. 11 to Aug. 23 and debut nationwide following two weekends of sneak previews.
The rules set by SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, prevent stars from participating in promotional campaigns that marketing executives believe help drive ticket sales.
“The stars can’t promote the movie,” Sony said of “Gran Turismo,” “but the audience can.” (The film features Orlando Bloom of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and David Harbour of “Stranger Things.”)
The news came after two smaller distribution companies revised their release calendars. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a unit of Amazon, bumped the Zendaya tennis drama “Challengers” from September to April. Searchlight Pictures, the Disney-owned art-house label, moved the Emma Stone surrealist fantasy “Poor Things” from September to December.
In a separate move Friday, Sony announced a June 14 release date for the fourth entry in the “Bad Boys” series, and a July 12 premiere for “Venom 3,” the next chapter in the Marvel antihero saga starring Tom Hardy.
The studio's 2024 lineup also includes “Madame Web” in February, the “Ghostbusters” sequel in March, "Kraven the Hunter" in August and a new take on “Karate Kid” in December.
The postponements from Sony are likely to rattle pandemic-battered exhibitors. The nation’s brick-and-mortar theater chains are enjoying fresh momentum thanks to the smash successes of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — a joint cultural phenomenon that some business analysts believe could rejuvenate consumer enthusiasm for traditional moviegoing.
“Barbie” has grossed a staggering $500 million worldwide and “Oppenheimer” has taken in nearly $120 million at the North American box office as of Friday (“Oppenheimer” comes from Universal Pictures, a unit of NBC News’ parent company, NBCUniversal.)
Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, the film industry’s four other major studios, have not publicly said whether they plan to shuffle their release calendars because of the strikes.
Hollywood screenwriters represented by the Writers Guild of America have been on strike since early May. They are demanding higher base compensation and stronger protections against artificial intelligence. The industry’s screen actors joined writers on the picket lines on July 14. They are striking over similar issues.
The strike pits writers and actors against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a trade group that represents the major studios as well as digital insurgents such as Apple TV+ and Netflix.
The labor strife has also forced some big studio-backed productions to halt filming. Paramount's “Gladiator 2” and Universal's “Wicked: Part One” are among the movies on hold until the WGA and SAG-AFTRA reach a deal on a new contract with the AMPTP.
