Even an infamous annual 12-hour crime period is no match for the coronavirus.
The upcoming chapter of Universal Picture’s The Purge franchise has been indefinitely delayed. Purge 5, officially titled The Forever Purge, originally was set to release in theaters on July 10 in the U.S. and July 8 in the UK, but due to the pandemic not dying down anytime soon, the sequel has been pulled from the studio’s original calendar. Universal Pictures has not rescheduled a new date at this time, and is currently deciding whether to wait for another cinema release or send it straight to VOD.
At the moment, the only films still scheduled to open this summer are Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (July 17), the live-action remake of Disney’s Mulan (July 24) and Wonder Woman 1984 (Aug. 14). But, like The Forever Purge, those movie dates could continue to shift with movie theaters in heavily impacted areas like New York, New Jersey and California still closed. In addition, Hollywood studios are not expecting cinemas to be operating in full capacity during the next two months. Even though theaters in some states like Texas and Georgia have slowly begun the reopening process, big cities could stay closed longer than anticipated.
Everardo Gout (Days of Grace) directed The Forever Purge, written by franchise creator James DeMonaco and produced by Blumhouse Productions. The horror franchise has consistently been financially successful, with 2018’s The First Purge being the highest-grossing installment to date, earning $137 million worldwide.
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