LOS ANGELES

"Black Widow", starring Scarlett Johansson, has been pulled by Marvel Studios in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.  The Cate Shortland-directed film, which was scheduled to be released on May 1, is delayed until further notice, reported Deadline.

With two biggest movie chains, AMC and Regal, shutting down for possibly close to two months, it was an inevitable decision by the makers. Marvel has also postponed Amy Adams-starrer "The Woman in the Window", a 20th Century title and "The Personal History of David Copperfield", featuring Dev Patel, from its Searchlight banner, which were supposed to debut on April 15 and May 8, respectively.

It is unclear when any of these films will be released. Disney has already called off the release of "Mulan", "The New Mutants" and "Antlers".

Other studios have also postponed their releases in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, Paramount's "A Quiet Place Part II", Universal's "F9" and MGM's James Bond film "No Time to Die".

The outbreak, which first emerged in China's Wuhan city last year, has spread across the globe, infecting 198,006 people.