'Wonder Woman 1984' set for Aug. 14 theatrical release

March 25 (UPI) -- Warner Bros. has announced it is delaying the theatrical release of Wonder Woman 1984 -- starring Gal Gadot -- from June 5 to Aug. 14 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When we green-lit WW 1984 it was with every intention to be viewed on the big screen and are excited to announce that Warner Bros. Pictures will be bringing the film to theaters on August 14th," Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement Tuesday. "We hope the world will be in a safer and healthier place by then."

The studio released on streaming services Tuesday its films Birds or Prey and The Way Back -- which had opened this month, but lost their audiences when movie theaters closed.

The closures are part of an effort to keep large crowds from forming in the hopes of stemming the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 15,000 people worldwide.

To provide entertainment for people social-distancing at home, Disney+ said it would release Onward on April 3 and Universal is making Emma, The Hunt and The Invisible Man available on video-on-demand services April 10.

Warner Bros.' announcement regarding director Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 1984 crushed the hopes of those hoping the studio would release the film directly to home video.

Other potential blockbusters such as A Quiet Place 2 and No Time to Die have also had their theatrical release dates changed in recent weeks, instead of going straight to streaming.