Bob’s Burgers Movie Still Planning to Release in Theaters Eventually

2020 was supposed to be the year that brought Bob’s Burgers to the big screen for the very first time, allowing fans of the beloved animated series to see all of their favorite characters in an actual movie theater. Of course, COVID-19 had other plans. Theaters have been closed for the majority of the year, crippling the entire theatrical industry and forcing studios to either release their films online, or save them for 2021. It may seem like a surprising choice, given the success of Bob’s Burgers on streaming services, but series creator Loren Bouchard is opting to wait and release Bob’s Burgers: The Movie in theaters, whenever it’s safe to do so.

Why not just release the film on-demand, or even on Hulu, where Bob’s currently thrives? While speaking to EW, Bouchard explained that the team behind the film — which he’s directing — wants to get Bob and his family on the big screen because it’s a place they’ve never been before.

“We talked about [streaming] as it pertains to the movie and we decided we really want the movie to come out in theaters because Bob’s is already on TV,” he said. “Of course, we want everyone to be able to safely see it in movie theaters. We don’t want anyone to put themselves at risk. But assuming there’s a point at which everyone can go back to theaters safely, we’re excited about Bob’s the movie being seen in the theater, in the dark with other people, because that’s something we’ve never been able to do before. That’s the main course that we’re delivering to people, in this case.”

The Bob’s Burgers movie was originally supposed to arrive in theaters on July 17th of this year, but that obviously didn’t happen. The animated feature film is now aiming to debut on April 9, 2021. Of course, things could still change between now and then, and more movie delays could cause even more shifts to the greater Disney release calendar. For now, however, it looks like April will mark Bob’s turn on the big screen.

“The things that we did up to this point help set us up, hopefully, for success on the movie,” Bouchard continued. “For example, the Bob’s Burgers concert was a big part of why we agreed to do the movie.” He means Bob’s Burgers Live!, a tour with the cast that started in 2013 and returned to Los Angeles in 2016 for the show’s 100th episode. “We felt like we learned a lesson that we could apply forward.”

Are you looking forward to seeing Bob’s Burgers in theaters next year? Let us know in the comments!