Sonic Movie Release Delayed Indefinitely in Japan on Coronavirus Fears

Concerns about the spread of novel coronavirus have claimed the release date of the Sonic movie in its home market.

Overnight, Sega of Japan announced the Sonic movie would be delayed indefinitely on concerns about the virus’s spread. The decision was made with cooperation of Paramount Pictures and local distributor Towa Pictures. The film was originally to debut on March 27th, and as has been the case all around the world, likely would have debuted in the top spot.

Sega assures current ticket holders to hold on to the stubs, as a new release date will be announced for movie theaters at a later date.

Japan has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus spread. There are now over a thousand confirmed cases of infections in the country, but that includes more than 700 on a quarantined cruise ship parked just offshore from Tokyo, according to NHK. Twelve deaths in the country have been confirmed. There are now over 95,000 confirmed cases of infections worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

Yuji Naka, one of Sonic’s co-creators, expressed disappointment at the delay.

One other big budget movie scheduled for release in the March/April timeframe,  the latest James Bond franchise pic, has been kicked this week to a worldwide November release.

The Sonic movie itself is nearing the $300 million worldwide box office threshold, all but guaranteeing a sequel if it hits that critical threshold, which it still could do as soon as this weekend.