The price of movie delays extracts a heavy toll, with a new report regarding MGM Studios revealing just how heavy. The report reveals that loans taken out by MGM in order to make the upcoming Bond outing No Time to Die will cost the studio $1 million a month in interest until the movie is released. That's a whole lot of martinis.

MGM financed No Time To Die with a large loan, which is typical of many big budget movies, but the ongoing delays to release have meant that interest is beginning to build up and will not be paid off until the movie hits screens. The report includes a quote from Hal Vogel, CEO of Vogel Capital Research, who says that the studio is now struggling, and they are far from the only one.

"MGM is suffering. Every major distributor at this point has a pile of unreleased expensive movies. The pile grows larger by the day. These films are inventory. They are sitting there with no return on their investment. Even with low interest rates, the interest costs are piling up. So going the streaming route is not that crazy. You've spent the money. And you're not getting it back anytime soon."

This tracks with the recent rumors that MGM were looking to sell the movie to a streaming service, with the likes of Netflix and Apple looking to buy. Allegedly, their interest waned when MGM asked for an eye-watering $600 million in order for No Time to Die to skip theaters and stream straight to people's homes. Since then, it has been reported that MGM is still planning on releasing James Bond's latest escapade to cinemas, with a spokesperson for MGM putting the rumors to bed. "We are not commenting on the rumor. The film is not for sale. The movie will release in April 2021 in theaters," they said. Of course, MGM are not the only one suffering, with Warner Bros. revealing that Christopher Nolan's Tenet was sadly not the success story they had hoped for.

No Time to Die was originally due for release in November 2019, with the movie facing several delays since due to the ongoing global situation. If that were not already bad enough, director Cary Joji Fukunaga recently admitted that the movie could be delayed even further if things don't improve. "I think there's always the potential of that." he said. "I look at it unemotionally right now... There are so many bigger things happening. I have friends who are losing businesses, restaurants, and other friends who have lost family members."

No Time to Die picks up five years after the capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, with James Bond having now left active service. He is approached by Felix Leiter, his friend, and a CIA officer, who enlists his help in the search for Valdo Obruchev, a missing scientist. When it becomes apparent that Obruchev was abducted, Bond must confront a danger the likes of which the world has never seen before.

The movie is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga from a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Fukunaga, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, and Ralph Fiennes reprise their roles from previous films, with Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, and Rami Malek joining the main cast. No Time to Die will also see Daniel Craig in his final appearance as the iconic secret agent. No Time to Die will (hopefully) now open in theaters on April 2nd, 2021. This comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.