Paramount Pulls All Theatrical Films From 2021 Release

ViacomCBS’ VIAC Paramount has shaken up its theatrical release schedule by moving all of its remaining 2021 releases into 2022.

What Happened: Deadline reports the studio has relocated the Tom Cruise vehicle “Top Gun: Maverick” from its pre-Thanksgiving weekend premiere of Nov. 19 and will now release it on May 27, 2022, the start of the Memorial Day weekend. Another Cruise film that was supposed to open on May 27, “Mission: Impossible 7,” has been moved back to Sept. 30, 2022.

Paramount also evicted “Jackass Forever,” the latest installment in the Johnny Knoxville comedy franchise, from its scheduled Oct. 22 opening date and will instead put it in theaters on Feb. 4, 2022.

Another title, “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” has been pulled from the release calendar but has yet to be rescheduled for a U.S. premiere.

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Why It Happened: Paramount’s decision was based on whether theater attendance will be able to rise amid the new surge of COVID-19 cases brought by the Delta variant in both the U.S. and overseas markets. Paramount is the first studio to completely exit the theatrical venues for the remainder of the year.

Paramount's last theatrical release to date was the animated “PAW Patrol: The Movie,” which opened on Aug. 20. The studio will not be represented on the big screen until the reboot of “Scream” on Jan. 14, 2022.

Photo: Tom Cruise in "Top Gun: Maverick," courtesy of Paramount Pictures.