By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Shares in Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) were marginally in the green in Wednesday’s premarket while those of AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) were 4% down on news that the former has delayed the release of its latest Marvel superhero movie, Black Widow, to July.
Adding to AMC’s woes was the entertainment giant’s decision to simultaneously stream the movie on its Disney+ platform for a fee. A joint release of the movie may weigh on audience numbers, given the inertia of watching content at home in the pandemic. The decision reflects the studio's concerns that customers may not yet be willing to trust themselves in large public gatherings while the pandemic drags on.
Operators like AMC had just begun to open their theaters and were waiting for the movie. Theater owners have been amongst the most badly hit by the pandemic as lockdowns and the fear of the virus kept audience away.
Black Widow showcases Scarlett Johansson as the Russian-born spy-turned-superhero.
Disney also said it would offer live-action movie Cruella for a fee to Disney+ customers on the same day it hits cinemas, scheduled for May 28, and that Pixar animated movie Luca would skip most theaters and debut to all Disney+ subscribers on June 18.
The company delayed a handful of other films, including Marvel film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, to September 3 from July 9 earlier.