'Wonder Woman 1984' moves to Christmas

The theatrical release of Wonder Woman 1984 has once again been delayed, this time for a scheduled premiere on Dec. 25, 2020.

The sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman was originally meant to release more than a year earlier on Dec. 13, 2019 and has had its date moved five times since that initial announcement. The first move pushed Wonder Woman 1984 up to November 2019 and the second reimagined the film as a summer blockbuster in June 2020. After that, the ongoing realities of COVID-19 and its impact on American movie theaters required further delays.

In response to the pandemic, Warner Bros. delayed the movie to Aug. 14, 2020, then to Oct. 2, and now to Dec. 25 as reported by Variety.

That same Variety article pointed to "sources [that] say the studio was waiting to assess ticket sales for 'Tenet' before making a decision about 'Wonder Woman,'" suggesting that the box office response to Christopher Nolan's theatrically released blockbuster had something to do with Wonder Woman 1984's most recent delay. Tenet has grossed over $150 million worldwide so far; the first Wonder Woman made over $800 million in 2017.

It is impossible to predict the future at the best of times, but even the most likely projections remain dubious in the midst of a global pandemic. If Wonder Woman 1984 does release in theaters Christmas Day, it will hopefully do so under safe circumstances that respect and uphold public health.