Large gatherings and events of all kinds are being postponed and canceled in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus. Now, Disney has announced that the premiere of the live-action remake of “Mulan” will be postponed.
Originally set to hit theaters on March 27, the film’s release has been postponed indefinitely. It was forecasted to bring in between $80 and $90 million at the box office in its opening weekend.
Movie theaters around the world, including in China, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland, have completely closed. Other markets are experiencing partial closures in an effort to contain the illness. In some places, such as the U.S., many movie theaters are adding “social distancing” measures and capping audiences. These closures could lead to a big loss at the box office if the movie’s premiere went ahead as scheduled.
The Independent also reported last month that the Chinese debut of the movie might not only be delayed, but the movie might not be released in that country at all as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The movie’s world premiere still took place March 9 in Hollywood, complete with a red carpet and many stars. Among them were Liu Yifei, who plays Mulan.
The event also included the original Mulan from the 1998 animated movie, Ming-Na Wen. She posted pictures on Twitter showing herself from the original premiere and from the new one, side by side.
Mulan premieres
1998 & 2020@DisneysMulan â¤ï¸#warriorprincess #mulan pic.twitter.com/NUrERNcgng— Ming-Na Wen (@MingNa) March 10, 2020
However, the film’s March 12 European premiere in London was scaled back in light of the virus.
“In an abundance of caution, we are downscaling this evening’s premiere of ‘Mulan’ and will no longer have a media line or red carpet. We will, however, continue to host the premiere screening as a contained inside screening event,” the studio said in a statement.
Here’s a picture from the London event, featuring Ron Yuan, director Niki Caro, Liu Yifei, Jason Scott Lee and Yoson An.
Shortly after the event, the decision to postpone to the worldwide premiere was announced.
“We are so excited to share this film with the world, but given the current ever-shifting circumstances we are all experiencing, unfortunately, we have to postpone the worldwide release of ‘Mulan’ for now,” Niki Caro, the film’s director, said in an Instagram post announcing the postponement. “Our hearts are with everyone the world over who is affected by this virus, and we hope that Mulan’s fighting spirit will continue to inspire those who are working so hard to keep us all safe.”
Disney will also be postponing the premieres of “The New Mutants” (originally scheduled for April 3) and “Antlers” (April 17).
Other major films’ theatrical releases have been postponed as well, including “Fast & Furious 9,” “A Quiet Place 2,” “No Time to Die,” “The Secret Garden,” and “Peter Rabbit 2.”
Production on other projects has been delayed; the seventh “Mission: Impossible” movie, for example, was supposed to shoot in Venice, Italy. in February. Other movies will simply not show in countries like China, including “Little Women” and “Jojo Rabbit.”
In addition, production on several television shows has been delayed or suspended, including Apple’s “The Morning Show,” “Little America,” “Russian Doll,” “Riverdale,” “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “The Amazing Race,” “Survivor” and more.
As a result, industry watchers are saying 2020 could be the lowest-grossing year for entertainment in the decade ending this year.
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