It looks like they’re really going to do it this time. They’re really going to release this movie. That in itself is big news. It’s also big news—like, really big news—that a new movie is going to be released to theaters, period. Movie houses have been closed, under sheets, gathering dust since early spring, when the ‘Rona hit. Since then, moviegoers have been waiting and wondering, when will theaters reopen? Some have said that they never would, which is ridiculous. Some have said that they wouldn’t reopen until we have a vaccine or viable treatment for the ‘Rona. This was more plausible, worryingly so. Theaters have claimed that they can reopen safely by enforcing social distancing and masks, but they wouldn’t, not until there were new movies to show. There is this one theater that I know of that reopened a month or so ago. They’ve been showing previously released classics and independents. But none of the major chains were going to reopen until they had fresh content. And now they will.
Word is, Disney was contractually obligated to release THE NEW MUTANTS to theaters. That’s the only reason they’re doing this instead of relegating it to livestreaming. They’re basically writing the movie off. I hope they’re surprised. Will people turn out to see the movie when it opens on August 28th? I hope they do. With theater capacities reduced by half, there’s no way the film will make as much money as it would have otherwise. They aren’t expecting it to. But I hope it performs better than what they are expecting—provided the movie is any good. It would really suck if we’ve waited all this time, and it ends up being lousy. If it’s good, director Josh Boone has gone on record saying he’d like to make a trilogy. Will he ever get the chance?
