The fall blockbuster schedule is already seeing further coronavirus delays after Tenet's debut

The first major blockbuster to be released in the United States since the coronavirus pandemic began just came out — but it looks like it will also be the last for a little while longer.

Warner Bros. is once again delaying Wonder Woman 1984, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed it's moving from Oct. 2 to Dec. 25. The superhero sequel had already been delayed multiple times due to the pandemic, having previously been set for June and August.

Christopher Nolan's Tenet, another film from Warner Bros., was released last week in U.S. theaters that have reopened, although theaters in the two largest moviegoing markets of New York City and Los Angeles remained shuttered. This was the first big movie to come out in reopened theaters, and it was seen as a key test of whether audiences would feel comfortable returning. Ultimately, Tenet opened "at the lower end of expectations," Forbes reports. Warner Bros. said Tenet made about $20 million in its domestic debut, although that included some money it grossed prior to the actual weekend.

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The Wonder Woman delay is yet another blow for theaters that had hoped to see a more regular schedule of blockbuster releases beginning with Tenet. The decision could be seen as Warner Bros. wanting Tenet to have less competition in theaters, as it hopes audiences will slowly return to see it over a period of many weeks as opposed to on one massive opening weekend.

With Wonder Woman moving, the next giant blockbuster scheduled to be released in theaters is Marvel's Black Widow on Nov. 6. But according to Deadline, "there are whispers" that that film, too, could be delayed.