With the rest of 2020’s release schedule still up in the air as the Coronavirus pandemic continues, even movies that were set to hit theaters towards the end of the year are starting to have second thoughts about whether or not they’ll be able to meet those dates. And with Hollywood set to lose out on countless billions of dollars in revenue, this is shaping up to be one of the leanest years the industry has ever seen.
While most of the focus has been on the mega-budget blockbusters that have been forced to up sticks and find a new release date, there are plenty of smaller-scale projects in virtually every other genre that are in the same boat, and a lot of them don’t have the same sort of financial cushion as the likes of Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984 and No Time to Die, which are guaranteed to be massive hits regardless of when they eventually land in cinemas.
One of these lower-profile movies is the Candyman reboot, which was initially set to be released next weekend. Longtime fans of both the horror genre and the franchise couldn’t wait to see what producer Jordan Peele had cooked up given that Get Out and Us firmly established him as one of horror’s most unique and interesting voices.
However, in a recent online exchange with a fan, original star Tony Todd put some fears to rest when he seemingly confirmed that Candyman has found a new home on the calendar, and will now arrive in theaters at the end of September.
9-25-20 bamn
— Tony Todd (@TonyTodd54) June 5, 2020
Interestingly, the actor then retweeted another fan asking if the movie would be getting released in cinemas and on home video on the same day, which has stoked speculation that this is the route Universal will be taking. It makes complete sense when you think about it, too, because when theaters eventually reopen, there will more than likely be social distancing measures in place, and not everyone will be keen to share a room with hundreds of strangers just because they can.
The movie business has been relying on the digital market more than ever during the pandemic, and as it eases back into some sense of normality, releasing less expensive movies on VOD the same day as the theatrical premiere could become a more common practice.