ANTLERS Joins HALLOWEEN KILLS, More Horror Films with 2021 Release

The coronavirus has taken a toll on nearly every sector of the American economy, and the movie business has taken a hard hit. Last month, Universal Pictures announced that the premiere of Halloween sequel Halloween Kills was moving from October 16th, 2020 to October 15th, 2021, subsequently moving its third installment, Halloween Ends, from 2021 to 2022. Now Scott Cooper’s first horror film Antlers, which was originally scheduled for an April release and had been indefinitely delayed, has been (tentatively) scheduled for a theatrical release on February 19th, 2021.

The Disney Searchlight flick, produced by Guillermo del Toro, is based on the novel The Quiet Boy by acclaimed horror writer Nick Antosca, and follows a teacher and her brother, the town sheriff, who attempt to help a student having trouble with a Wendigo living in his attic. It was previously unclear whether the film would premiere digitally as others, such as Blumhouse’s You Should Have Left have tried, but it seems that they wanted to keep the film a theatrical release.

Antlers and Halloween Kills are not alone in their adjusted release dates. A Quiet Place: Part II has already been pushed twice, first from March to September and then to April 23rd, 2021. Nia DeCosta’s highly anticipated Candyman was first rescheduled from June to September, and now remains with an October 16th release date; with most movie theaters still closed and virus numbers throughout America increasing, we expect that release to move again. Escape Room 2 has been pushed from August to January, The Conjuring 3 has been moved to June 2021, and Spiral, the latest in the Saw franchise, has been rescheduled for May 2021. Edgar Wright’s return to horror Last Night in Soho was supposed to grace theaters in September, but as of today, that release has been moved to April 2021. 

Not all of the films on our Most Anticipated Horror Films of 2020 list have been pushed, though. The January releases were able to get through before the virus got to America, and The Pale Door is set to release August 21st on digital and in select drive-in theaters. 

Cooper will direct his second horror film, A Head Full of Ghosts starring Margaret Qualley, once filming officially resumes. Cooper and del Toro recently discussed Antlers and the filmmaking process at Comic-Con at home: