Disney delays releases of 'Black Widow,' 'West Side Story' until 2021

LOS ANGELES - Walt Disney Co postponed the release of Marvel superhero movie "Black Widow" by six months until May 2021, the company said on Wednesday.

The movie studio also pushed the release date for the new movie version of "West Side Story" to December 2021 from its previous December 2020 date.

The moves follow disappointing efforts to get Americans back into movie theaters after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered theaters worldwide in March.

"Black Widow" had originally been scheduled to debut in May before Disney moved it to Nov. 6. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as the Marvel action hero and was due to be the next big-budget Hollywood movie slated for theaters.

Earlier this month Warner Bros. shifted the release of superhero movie "Wonder Woman 1984" to December from its Oct. 2 date.

Disney on Wednesday also moved back the dates for "Death on the Nile" from October to December 2020, and "Eternals" from February 2021 to November 2021. -- Reuters