Serving as yet another blow, Warner Bros. had delayed The Conjuring 3 to next summer. It will now arrive on June 4, 2021. Originally, the horror sequel had been set to arrive in the fall. However, with theaters still shut down in the U.S., the uncertainty has prompted the studio to do some additional shuffling with its release calendar. To that point, Christopher Nolan's Tenet has also been delayed indefinitely. Studio chairman Toby Emmerich had this to say.

"We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for Tenet, Christopher Nolan's wholly original and mind-blowing feature. We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that. Additionally, we will be moving the next installment from our most-successful horror franchise, The Conjuring 3 to June 4, 2021."

Officially titled The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the movie had been set for a September 11 release. It had previously been reported that a delay was likely as studios were becoming nervous about the prospect of releasing any major movies in August. The situation at hand has largely worsened, not improved, which has led to significant doubts in regards to what level a movie can perform at the box office, even if theaters do open by the end of July.

Tenet was scheduled to be the first new blockbuster to hit theaters in August. Theaters need big movies to draw in crowds and justify reopening, especially with reduced capacity in auditoriums to meet social distancing requirements. It is largely expected that Disney will push Mulan back yet again as well. With that in mind, theater chains such as AMC, Regal and Cinemark may end up pushing back release plans. Or, at the very least, they will be left to largely show older movies for the first month or so of operations.

Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona) directed The Conjuring 3. James Wan, who directed the first two main installments of the highly-successful horror franchise, is on board as a producer. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as Ed and Lorraine Warren. The haunted house formula established in the previous movies will be given a shake-up as this entry will center on first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect claimed demonic possession as a means of legal defense. Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook and Julian Hilliard also star.

To date, the Conjuring universe, which now includes spin-off such as the Annabelle trilogy and The Nun, has grossed $1.9 billion at the global box office. Both The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 were released in the summer and went on to become huge hits. So, while the delay is significant, history would suggest this isn't a bad move, financially speaking. Warner Bros. has The Nun 2 and a spin-off centered on The Crooked Man in the works as well. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details are made available. This news was previously reported by Variety.