Businessweek

Sunday Strategist: In Pandemic Hollywood, Tomorrow Never Dies

Breaking down the boldest bets in business

A woman wearing a facemask amid fears of the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus walks past a poster for the new James Bond movie "No Time to Die" in Bangkok on February 28, 2020.

(Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images)

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Honestly, the title probably didn’t help. No Time To Die, the latest James Bond vehicle, graciously ceded its April 2 theater debut to coronavirus jitters, instead planning to drop the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Fans had requested the delay, but for Eon, MGM and Universal the risk of a box office disaster was probably too great. “That’s their big movie this year,” said Comscore movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “I don’t think they can take any chance with it.”