Sony has grabbed some key 2021 release dates as it is the latest movie studio to announce major changes to its release slate owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tent-pole films like Tom Holland's 'Uncharted', Paul Rudd's 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife', 'Jared Leto's 'Morbius', Tom Hanks' World War 2 drama 'Greyhound', and 'Peter Rabbit 2' have all been delayed, leaving Kevin Hart's 'Fatherhood' as one of the only major titles on Sony's 2020 schedule- and that was itself brought forward to October 2020 from January 2021.

The forthcoming third MCU 'Spider-Man' movie appears to be unaffected as it's release date was already scheduled on July 16, 2021. Sony's drastic schedule changes suggest the company does not see movie theaters reopening until the end of summer or later. Other studios have made more cautious adjustments- Warner Bros moved 'Wonder Woman 1984' to August 14th from its planned June 5th release. Disney's 'Mulan' has been indefinitely delayed, while the new James Bond flick 'No Time to Die' is now set for a November release.

The studio obviously doesn't trust that theatres will be fully open this summer. And even if they do, it doesn't want to risk business with good tent-pole films getting lost in the post-pandemic downpour of films. More reshuffling of the studio deck is yet to come, as distribution executives react to changing news. Making a decisive claim on a later date can be an advantage- Universal is looking prescient for moving the latest 'Fast 9' back one year.

This winter season is shaping up to be a bloodbath with multiple titles competing against each other for audiences. Moving later also gives studios enough time to line up all the necessary pre-release marketing campaigns with talent on board.

Hollywood is getting ready to resume business as soon as possible. But it's imperative to evaluate the behaviour of the post-pandemic moviegoer. Even when the curfew is lifted, will people be willing to return to multiplexes so soon?