The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) continues to reject engaging in negotiations with Hollywood’s striking writers and actors over concerns like fair compensation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in filmmaking, and this rejection is starting to have a significant influence on studios’ release schedules.
Release date adjustments appear to be a strategy to wait out the dual strikes so that performers and authors can resume promotion of their work because they are unable to do so without running the danger of undermining the strike. Notably, a two-week extension in the discussions between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP let performers to promote significant films like Barbie and Oppenheimer, which was a blatant acknowledgement of the value of promotional labour.
Poor Things
This hilarious, surreal retelling of the traditional Frankenstein tale, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos of The Favourite, also stars Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and Christopher Abbott. Poor Things will still have its international premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival even if its original September release date has been postponed.
Revised release date: Dec. 8, 2023
Challengers
The much-anticipated tennis drama Challengers from Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist. Challengers was completely dropped from the Venice Film Festival, a move that Guadagnino battled, according to Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the festival. MGM, Amazon Studios, and Warner Bros. also pushed back the release date of the movie from September of this year to spring of 2024.
Revised release date: Apr. 26, 2024
White Bird
White Bird, starring Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson, is the Wonder sequel from 2017. The narrative of Wonder’s bully Julian (Bryce Gheisar) grandmother (Mirren) growing up in Nazi-occupied France is the focus of the movie. The movie, which was originally scheduled for an August release, is now “undated for Q4” of 2023, reports Deadline.
Revised release date: TBD, fall or winter of 2023
Dirty Dancing sequel
In this sequel to the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, also known as Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey returns to the Catskills. Even though filming on the sequel by director Jonathan Levine has not yet begun, its original release date of February 9, 2024 has already been changed to the summer of 2025.
Revised release date: Summer 2025
Problemista
With Problemista, Julio Torres makes his feature film directorial debut. The quirky comedy follows an aspiring toymaker (Torres) as he tries to get his artistic boss (Tilda Swinton) to sign his visa. Since independent projects are not a part of the AMPTP, problemista distributor A24 has gotten temporary waivers from SAG-AFTRA to continue shooting them. To support Torres and give him the chance to promote the movie around its premiere, A24 is still delaying Problemista’s release.
Revised release date: TBD
Dune: Part Two, The Color Purple, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Variety reports that Warner Bros. is looking at fresh release dates for the musical The Colour Purple, the superhero sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two. Although these revised release dates have not yet been formally revealed and confirmed, they would represent a significant change from Warner Bros.’s previously stated end-of-year release slate, which also includes the Timothée Chalamet-starring Wonka.
