Coronavirus concerns cancel James Bond ‘No Time to Die’ Beijing premiere
The film was expected to be a moneymaker for Universal Pictures, in part because of the Chinese market
The latest James Bond movie, which marks Daniel Craig’s final appearance as 007, will not have a star-studded premiere in Beijing this April over coronavirus fears, according to a report from The Sunday Times.
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News of the canceled publicity tour was made just when the virus’ death toll surpassed 1,600.
About 70,000 movie theaters across China have been closed amid the outbreak, which has forced over 50 million people in the country to remain inside in hopes of containing the spread of the virus. Movie theaters are reportedly set to be closed until April as a result. However, the DailyMail, citing a studio insider, reported that the tour won’t go through even if theaters reopen sooner.
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The final title to Craig’s James Bond series, “No Time to Die,” was expected to be a big moneymaker for Universal Pictures – in part because of the Chinese market. The last James Bond movie, Spectre, made more than $880 million worldwide – $83.5 million came from China.
Universal Pictures did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
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The city of Wuhan, which has been cited as the source of the coronavirus outbreak, has been locked down since Jan. 23. Travel through the area has been suspended in addition to the closure of schools, offices and factories. Several American companies have also suspended operations.
Outside of mainland China, there have been around 51,866 laboratory-confirmed cases worldwide as of Feb. 16, according to the World Health Organization’s live tracker. Fifteen of which are in the U.S. In total, 26 countries have been impacted.
It is not clear whether the “No Time to Die” publicity tour will take similar action in neighboring countries throughout Asia. Singapore currently has 75 confirmed cases while Japan has 59 and South Korea has 29. Some cases have been confirmed in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.
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The coronavirus is said to have an incubation period of 14 days.
