'Wonder Woman 1984' To Release In UK As Scheduled Despite Closure Of Theaters

Warner Bros. and “Wonder Woman 1984” have confirmed that the movie will follow the original release schedule in the U.K. even after the government decided to move London into the country’s highest tier of COVID-19 restrictions, forcing movie theaters to close their doors once again.

The production giant said that the “Wonder Woman” sequel is still on-course to release this Wednesday in the U.K., Variety first reported.

The announcement comes after the U.K. government instructed theaters in the region to close their doors for at least two weeks after seeing 5,322 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, Associated Press reported. The new set of restrictions will be implemented starting Wednesday.

Apart from movie houses, other places such as bowling alleys, live theaters and clubs will also be shutting down to curb the spread of the virus. Restaurants and bars will remain close except for takeaway and delivery.

Speaking about the new restrictions, Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, noted that these are necessary because the rise in cases might be associated with a new variant of COVID-19. He also shared that analysts think the new variant is growing faster than existing ones.

“I know that this is difficult news, and I know that it will mean plans disrupted and that for businesses affected, it will be a significant blow, but this action is essential, not just to keep people safe, but because we’ve seen early action can help prevent more damaging and longer-lasting problems later,” Variety quoted Hancock as saying.

The decision did not sit well with the U.K. Cinema Association, which believes that the new coronavirus restrictions will be “devastating” for the entire community.

“Like those in the rest of the country, cinemas in the capital have worked extraordinarily hard to safeguard audiences and staff alike. It is worth stating again that, as a result, not a single case of COVID has been traced back to a U.K. cinema,” said Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UKCA.

The new restrictions will affect the box-office results of “Wonder Woman 1984,” and it would have also disappointed the fans who were eagerly waiting to see the movie on the big screen.

The first “Wonder Woman” movie, which was released in 2017, went on to earn $30 million at the U.K. box office and became one of the biggest hits of that year.

Directed by Patty Jenkins, "Wonder Woman 1984" stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal.