Black Widow moves to November 2020 as Marvel reshuffles their entire Phase 4 lineup following the coronavirus pandemic. The film was one of many projects affected by the spread of COVID-19, originally set for premiere in Marvel's traditional early May slot this year. However, with movie theaters worldwide closed indefinitely because of the disease, the studio had no choice but to delay Black Widow's premiere, as Hollywood has essentially wiped the entire summer 2020 calendar clean while they wait out the health crisis.
At the time of Black Widow's postponement, Disney said a new date would be announced at a later time, as executives are undoubtedly monitoring the ever-changing situation. More so than other studios, Disney reorganizing their slate provided a number of logistical challenges given the sheer number of tentpoles they have in the pipeline. Now, they seem to have ironed things out, and Black Widow has a new release date.
Today, Disney announced Black Widow will now premiere on November 6, 2020, the release date previously claimed by Marvel's this has a domino effect on the entirety of Phase 4, as Marvel's moved all of their movies around.
Shortly after Black Widow was delayed, there was a fan campaign for it to launch on Disney+ early (NATO expects most of the postponed titles to make it to the big screen, giving theater owners a much-needed boost once they reopen. A huge tentpole like Black Widow will theoretically draw in large crowds, giving theaters and the studio a nice financial boost as they look to rebound.
In its new November window, Black Widow should be poised for a fruitful run. It has a two-week jump start on Thor: Ragnarok ($853.9 million). This obviously wasn't the plan for Marvel as they entered the post-Infinity Saga era, but they should still be in good shape moving forward. Hopefully, things will have calmed down by the time November rolls around and audiences unite to see the next comic book blockbuster.
Source: Disney
