'Fast & Furious' release called off until June

The next installment of the Fast & Furious franchise F9 will now release after June 25, the company said on Thursday.

The change was announced by Hollywood studios as they are trying to gauge when moviegoers will return to theaters in large numbers.

Cinemas in New York City, the second-largest moviegoing region in the United States, are scheduled to start reopening on Friday.

Movie studios do not want to release their most expensive action flicks until they can draw large crowds to recoup production and marketing costs.

The next big-budget action movie on the Hollywood schedule, Walt Disney Co’s Marvel movie Black Widow, is currently set to hit theaters on May 7. 

F9, which stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez, had originally been scheduled for release in April 2019 but has been postponed several times.- Reuters