As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, people will have more freedom to go to places like shops, restaurants, bars, and of course the cinema – which, out of the businesses that suffered due to the pandemic, seemed to have been one of the worst hit. There was some hope in August 2020 when restrictions were relaxed and cinemas were allowed to open again, but what they were showing was mostly old films apart from a few new ones like TENET, Bill and Ted Face The Music and The New Mutants.
A lot of people hoped TENET would be able to undo some of the damage and while I think it possibly made a start, it was not the success many were expecting. Most fingers pointed at an overcomplicated plot, but I don’t know what was expected given that TENET is a Christopher Nolan film. He is known for existing properties like The Dark Knight Trilogy and Dunkirk, but when he makes something original like Interstellar or Inception you can be excused for missing some important details that may require a second viewing. TENET can’t be called an outright success or failure, but it was far from being the film that would restore the cinema to pre-pandemic attendance levels. It didn’t help matters that the end of the year and the start of 2021 saw tougher restrictions re-imposed.
But that’s set to change soon with the lifting of restrictions cinemas chain like Cineworld have set a re-opening day for Monday 17 May. This time it seems that we may get more choice for new films to see; looking at the upcoming release schedule you will see there’s quite an impressive line-up with at least four films that will be charged expectations of reinvigorating the box office.
Two of the first films set to come out following the reopening are Peter Rabbit 2 and Nomadland. Peter Rabbit is a sequel but not much about the first one seemed that impressive. Nomadland is set to be released on Disney+, which is probably how most people will choose to watch it, but for those who can’t wait to step inside a cinema again Peter Rabbit 2 may be your only option – but not for long, as a few days after the re-openings another film will make its long-waited debut…
Its safe to say 2020 was not kind to Disney, with releases like Artemis Fowl and the reboot of Mulan getting their fair share of criticism. PIXAR did have some good luck with the well-received Soul and Onward. But then again, luck appears to be something Pixar always has on its side. Cruella is Disney’s next big release that will out in both cinemas as well as Disney+. It’s directed by Craig Gillespie who may be best known for directing I, Tonya but before that he directed 2016’s The Finest Hours, another Disney film. The odds of Cruella being a huge success is understandably hard to predict; Emma Stone is a well-regarded actress and Cruella Deville is an iconic Disney villain but there are two problems that could threaten the chances of a success. Many people have had their idea of Deville coloured by the well-remembered portrayal by Glenn Close in the 1996 live-action remake. Another detail to consider is that the plot looks much the same as Maleficent where an attempt is being made to portray a classic villain sympathetically. Some audiences may be a little tired of this device, especially when the sympathetic villain was surprisingly well received not thanks to Maleficent but to Joker. If people want more sympathetic villains, fair enough and maybe Cruella will give us that, but if the criticisms of Maleficent 2 are anything to go by, then maybe stories from a classic villain’s point of view are not Disney’s strength.
Friday 9 July brings us not one but two significant films, Black Widow and Fast And Furious 9. Right away I’d be fairly sure both will do well but I think Black Widow has the better chance of emerging the victor. It’s part of a large cinematic universe that’s been going on for years and is showing no signs of slowing down. Scarlet Johansson’s portrayal of Black Widow has been much praised and the supporting cast has promise with talent such as Rachel Weisz and David Harbour.
In the case of Fast and the Furious my outlook is rather different. This franchise has been producing films since the start of the 2000s and has evolved from films about street races with a strong emphasis on family to, well, generic action films with a strong emphasis on family. Yes, they may be well made and make money, but fans of the franchise seem to long for the days of the street races and not just another action franchise that makes star vehicles for Dwayne Johnson. On the positive side, he doesn’t seem to be in this one and is going to be in Disney’s Jungle Cruise instead. That may give some fans hope but with this being the ninth entry in the franchise and following on from a 2019 spin-off starring Johnson and Jason Statham there really is no way to tell how this one might go.
I can’t talk about films delayed by the pandemic without mentioning No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s fifth and last time portraying James Bond. I understand it had a rather turbulent production with Danny Boyle attached to the project as director at one point, who was then replaced by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Let’s hope those who have enjoyed Craig’s previous Bonds will flock to the cinema to see it on opening day – 30 September. I know I’ll be there but there are some things working against it, one being that some people may simply be fed up waiting and can’t be bothered with it. Others may still have less than pleasant memories of Spectre or are dreading seeing Bond succumb to the recent trend of overly ‘woke’ entries in established properties. Yes, No Time To Die does feature Lashana Lynch who bears the 007 title in most of the promotional material, but hopefully ‘Woke Bond’ is nothing more than a horrible fantasy. I’ll keep my fingers crossed this doesn’t happen.
Those aren’t the only big films coming out this year. A Quiet Place: Part 2 is coming out on 4 June and Halloween Kills is out on 15 October. There’s also Stephen Spielberg’s West Side Story and Spider-Man: No Way Home, both of which are scheduled for December.
So, assuming the easing of restrictions goes according to plan, it’s going to be a very interesting time to be a fan of cinemagoing, and for the films that are coming out soon, to paraphrase a great man, “I just want to tell you good luck, we’re all counting on you.”