Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, which features the voices of James Corden and Margot Robbie, was due in UK cinemas on 27 March, and the US a week later.

But with uncertainty over whether fans will avoid cinemas, that has now been put back to 7 August.

The decision comes a week after the new James Bond film No Time To Die was delayed from April to November.

The first Peter Rabbit film, which was released in 2018, made more than $350m (£265m) at worldwide box offices, two-thirds of which came outside North America.

Fears about the virus have not yet had a major impact on ticket receipts in the UK and US, but all 70,000 cinemas have been closed in China since January, and all cinemas in Italy were ordered to shut their doors over the weekend.

Cinemas in some parts of France have also been closed in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

Another family film, Trolls World Tour, has been brought forward by a week to 10 April, the start of Easter weekend.