Sony Reschedules Seven Movies Amid Ongoing Actors Strike

Due to the ongoing strikes by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, Sony has announced the postponement of seven movie releases.

The Writer’s Guild of America began the strike in May, demanding fair pay for streaming residuals and protection of their jobs from artificial intelligence.

The Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists joined the strike on July 14, voicing similar grievances about AI, likeness rights, and streaming residuals, as well as requesting more flexibility for self-tape auditions.

Due to these strikes, there have been constant delays in the releases and production of various shows. Actors and writers have refused to work until their demands are met. Keeping the delays in mind, there has been a lot of changes in upcoming releases.

Sony Reschedules Seven Movies Amid Ongoing Actors Strike — SAG AFTRA Strikes | Source: twitter

Sony has revealed a significant change in their release schedule as the summer season comes to an end. The studio is rescheduling seven movies, including Gran Turismo, Madame Web, Ghostbusters: Afterlife 2, Kraven the Hunter, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Karate Kid, and They Listen.

Sony has also confirmed the release dates for the highly awaited Bad Boys 4 and Venom 3 in 2024. Here is the updated list of the studio’s upcoming movies:

New Announcements:

Untitled Bad Boys Sequel (Columbia Pictures) – June 14, 2024, Father’s Day weekend
Untitled Venom Sequel (Columbia Pictures) – July 12, 2024

Change in Release Dates:

Gran Turismo (Columbia Pictures) – August 25, 2023, with nationwide sneaks the weekends of 8/11 and 8/18 (from August 11, 2023); the stars can’t promote the movie, but the audience can
Madame Web (Columbia Pictures) – February 14, 2024, Valentine’s Day (from February 16, 2024)
Untitled Ghostbusters Sequel (Columbia Pictures) – March 29, 2024, Easter weekend (from December 20, 2023)
Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation) – TBC (from March 29, 2024); the studio is considering several dates depending on how long the strike lasts
Kraven the Hunter (Columbia Pictures) – August 30, 2024, Labor Day weekend (from October 6, 2023)
Karate Kid (Columbia Pictures) – December 13, 2024 (from June 7, 2024)
They Listen (Columbia Pictures/Blumhouse) – TBC (from August 30, 2024)

The postponement of major releases was expected as many studios lacked the creative staff to market their films and joined the protests. Even before the SAG-AFTRA strike began, Marvel had revealed the rescheduling of six MCU movies, resulting in the delay of such awaited films as Fantastic Four and both Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.

The rescheduling of both Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web are among the most significant, as Sony’s Spider-Man Universe’s last entry, Jared Leto’s Morbius, performed poorly at the box office.

The longer interval between SSU releases could benefit them as audiences are able to overlook the negative reviews the franchise has received so far. However, given that both Venom movies were box office hits and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse broke multiple records, this gap could also affect the audience’s engagement.

Sony confirming Venom 3’s release date, on the other hand, is a favorable indication both for the Tom Hardy trilogy finale and its box office prospects.

At the moment, the only rivals it faces are Despicable Me 4 and Mufasa: The Lion King. Moreover, with Captain America: Brave New World arriving two weeks later, Venom 3 could potentially sustain the SSU if Madame Web fails to impress on its Valentine’s Day release.