Disney announced it has postponed three of its upcoming theatrical releases, including the much-anticipated live-action remake of Mulan, in the wake of the growing coronavirus outbreak.
‘As you know this has been a rapidly evolving situation and I wanted to make you aware that we are postponing the releases of ‘Mulan,’ ‘The New Mutants,’ and ‘Antlers’ out of an abundance of caution,’ Disney said in a statement on Thursday.
‘We truly believe in the movie-going experience, and we are looking at new potential 2020 release dates to be announced at a later date.’
Growing concerns: Disney delayed the theatrical releases of the films The New Mutants, Mulan and Antlers due to the growing coronavirus outbreak
Mulan, which is an adaption of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name, had been scheduled to hit theaters in the US on March 27.
The premiere had previously been postponed in China, where it was expected to be a box-office bonanza, due to the initial outbreak that was mostly in the Asian country.
Disney also scaled back it’s London red carpet event at Thursday’s UK premiere but the screening of the film still went forward with such stars as Liu Yifei, Yoson An, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Jason Scott, Gong Li. and director Niki Caro in attendance.
Horror superhero film: The New Mutants had been set to drop April 3 before it was pushed back because of COVID-19
Science fiction horror film: Searchlight’s Antlers had a April 17 release before it was delayed
Most recently, The New Mutants, had been scheduled to drop on April 3.
The horror film in the superhero genre stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlier Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga.
Originally it was expected to have an April 2018 release, but production problems forced it to be pushed back, along with the studio not wanting it to go up against other superhero releases like Deadpool 2 and Dark Phoenix.
The New Mutants was also delayed by Disney after the studio acquired Fox.
Live-action remake of 1998 animation: Mulan been scheduled to hit theaters on March 27
Searchlight’s Antlers had a April 17 release before it was delayed.
The science fiction horror film stars Keri Russell Jesse Plemons, Jeremy T. Thomas, Graham Greene, Scott Haze, Amy Madigan and Rory Cochrane.
So far there’s no word on any exact dates of then the films will premiere in theaters.
As part of the flurry of closures, Disney is shutting down Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure on March 14 through the end of the month, as well as it theme parks in Florida, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Disney also announced Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure will close March 14 through the end of the month, as well as it theme parks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo: (pictured) scattered visitors at Disneyland in Anaheim on Thursday
Currently movie theaters are closed in China, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Italy, Poland, states in India, Lebanon, and Kuwait. They remain open in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Australia, and Brazil.
At last check on Thursday, March 12, the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) has reported more than 1,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US; of those cases, there have been 36 deaths.
Globally there have been almost 125,000 cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared the outbreak a global pandemic on Wednesday, March 11.
Outbreak growing: As of Thursday, there have been almost 125,000 cases of coronavirus reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared the outbreak a global pandemic on Wednesday, March 11