Vin Diesel starrer 'Fast and Furious 9' release date pushed to June 2021

Fans of the high octane fueled action franchise Fast & Furious may need to wait a little longer to watch the new instalment in cinemas. Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel took to Instagram to announce the new F9 release date, which has been pushed back by a month to June 25, 2021. The latest shift of the release date is an attempt by Hollywood studios to analyse the situation when moviegoers will return to theatres once again following the coronavirus pandemic. Vin Diesel wrote on Instagram, "Finally! Blessed and grateful." Take a look at the post here!

Read more| Vin Diesel Remembers Late Actor Paul Walker, Details 'reflections Of True Brotherhood'

F9 release date postponed to June 25

Universal Studios has once again delayed the Fast & Furious 9 release date from May 28 to June 25, this year. The film which stars Vin Diesel as a street racer who turns into an international spy on the run was delayed multiple times due to the coronavirus pandemic. F9 was initially scheduled to release on May 22, 2020, but was postponed for almost a year when the pandemic struck. The latest delay comes days after US President Joe Biden announced that the US will have adequate vaccines to inoculate every American by the end of May.

The news also comes after New York City, the largest movie market in the country, will re-open theatres in a limited capacity this Friday. But Fast and Furious 9 will be highly unlikely to turn a profit with limited capacity re-opening, as the film's budget costs a reported $200 million and needs massive ticket sales globally to ensure it turns a profit, according to Variety. The Fast & Furious franchise has garnered a profit of more than $5 billion in global ticket sales since the first movie was released in 2001.

Read more| Melissa McCarthy To Play 'Fake Hela' In Marvel's Upcoming 'Thor: Love And Thunder’

Upcoming Hollywood films' release schedule

However, F9 is not the only film Universal Studios postponed. Universal's upcoming film Minions: The Rise of Gru, the fifth instalment in the Despicable Me franchise has been inevitably postponed to almost a year to July 1, 2022. Another major studio, Sony Pictures, also moved up the release date of the Peter Rabbit sequel from mid-June to May 14. The studio was reportedly encouraged by the decent turnout to the recent films like Tom and Jerry: The Movie and The Croods: A New Age.

Other upcoming films like Raya and the Last Dragon will release in theatres this Friday, alongside a Disney+ premiere, while Marvel Studios' Black Widow will release theatrically on May 7. Several others — including Ryan Reynolds’ sci-fi adventure Free Guy (May 21), Infinite starring Mark Wahlberg (May 28), Sony’s Venom sequel (June 25) and Top Gun: Maverick (July 2), are set to release in theatres as scheduled. 

Read more| 'We're Jabbing': Dolly Parton Adapts 'Jolene' Hit Track Into COVID Vaccine Anthem

Read more| Captain America: The First Avenger To Endgame; Films To Watch Before Marvel's New Series