The Latest Date Changes 2: The New Batch

[BanksIsDaFuture]

This whole time, I thought Jem already had a release date next summer. Turns out I thought Ricki and the Flash was Jem & the Holograms.

IMDb tells me Ricki is a Meryl Streep movie written by Diablo Cody? Why the hell is it opening in such a prime summer spot?

[Buscemi]

Three reasons why:

1. Meryl Streep's done well in the summer (Mamma Mia, Julie and Julia, Hope Springs).
2. Jonathan Demme's directing (this is his first scripted film in seven years). Though Demme's had limited experience with summer releases, there should be enough interest from fans of his work.
3. It's Sony's relaunch of TriStar as a production label (the second production will be Robert Zemeckis's The Walk).

[transformers2]

Some of the DC movies have now been confirmed:

2016: Suicide Squad (an all-villain movie directed by David Ayer)
2017: Wonder Woman, Justice League
2018: The Flash (Ezra Miller in the lead), Aquaman
2019: Shazam (Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam), Justice League 2

I'm most interested in Ayer's movie as it will do something Marvel hasn't dared do: make a movie focused around the villains. Also, David Ayer is a damn underrated director and he'll get a lot more creative control than most Marvel directors ever got.

In other news, The Woman in Black 2 will now open on 1/2/2015 (from 1/30/2015).

Stop the presses, Boosh and I agree about something.

[Buscemi]

Relativity will be distributing Black and White, which is now titled Black or White. Expect a Spring 2015 opening.

In other news, The Conjuring 2 has been pushed to 2016 while an untitled horror film takes the 10/23/2015 spot (I'm guessing it might be the long on the shelf Solace).

More new dates:
The DUFF (CBS's newest "this movie's going to save us" attempt) 4/10/2015 (from 2/20/2015)
The Last Witch Hunter 10/23/2015

[Buscemi]

Fast and Furious 7 is now titled Furious 7 and will debut its trailer on November 1st. This franchise and its titling just gets more confusing.

[Shrykespeare]

The DUFF (CBS's newest "this movie's going to save us" attempt) 4/10/2015 (from 2/20/2015)

OHHHHHH YEAHHHHH!!!

[Buscemi]

Sadly, it's not about Duffman.

In other news, the Jennifer Aniston film Cake has been picked up by a new distributor named Cinelou and will go out sometime in December for a Oscar-qualifying run and a general release in January.

Also, Sony has finally given Infinitely Polar Bear (one of the more high-profile titles from Sundance) a 1/16/2015 date. I was beginning to wonder if Sony was sitting on this one in an attempt to launch a new VOD platform with it and other long-on-the-shelf fare such as Predestination, Aloft and that Katherine Heigl movie they have. Sony will also give Still Alice a one-week Oscar run on 12/5/2014 before it's 1/16/2015 general release.

[Buscemi]

New release dates:

Krampus 12/4/2015 (from 11/25/2015)
Hail Caesar 2/5/2016
The Finest Hours (Disney's trying adult-aimed movies again) 4/15/2016

[Buscemi]

New release dates:

Black or White 12/3/2014 Oscar run, 1/23/2015 limited, 1/30/2015 wide
Leviathan 12/25/2014 (from 12/31/2014)
Cake 1/23/2015
Lazarus 2/20/2015 (from 1/30/2015, Relativity will also be distributing instead of Lionsgate)
She's Funny That Way 3/20/2015
The Salt of the Earth 3/27/2015
Desert Dancer 4/10/2015 (from 4/3/2015)
The Water Diviner 4/24/2015
Infinitely Polar Bear 4/24/2015 (from 1/16/2015)
The Transporter Legacy 6/19/2015 (from 2/27/2015)
Self/Less 7/31/2015 (from 4/17/2015)
The Mechanic: Resurrection 1/22/2016
Untitled Universal Monster Franchise Film 4/21/2017
Toy Story 4 6/16/2017

In other news, Foxcatcher will be given a small rollout and may not go wide until late January. I really do not get this decision and it shows that Sony still does not know what to do with it. This is the kind of film that I feel could open wide right away (seeing how people will go see Channing Tatum in damn near anything) or two weeks after limited release rather than suppressing it into large markets only. This reminds me of the way The Guest was distributed here (only 50 theatres at its widest despite playing wide in other big countries).

[Buscemi]

The film hasn't gotten a release date yet but Quentin Tarantino has already detailed the release platform for The Hateful Eight. It will open in 70mm first (where the intended 2.76 aspect ratio will be letterboxed in a 2.20 aspect ratio, much like how Interstellar is being screened), then expand to select theatres on 35mm, and finally play nationwide on digital. By the looks of it, Tarantino will have it play limited for a long time before going wide (as he compared the platform to the old roadshows of the 1960's).

Meanwhile, I'm convinced Tarantino has never watched a movie projected from a DCP as he seems to think it looks like a DVD (which is not the case at all, also Blu-rays are really good as replicating a theatrical presentation).

[numbersix]

Foxcatcher would suffer if it opened wide. It's not an "event" kind of film. Much more subdued and character-heavy. I think it'll struggle to go wide even in Jan, maybe 1000 theatres max but not much more.

[Chienfantome]

Meanwhile, I'm convinced Tarantino has never watched a movie projected from a DCP as he seems to think it looks like a DVD (which is not the case at all, also Blu-rays are really good as replicating a theatrical presentation).

I remember he said just about that after attending the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film festival this year, where the closing picture was "A Fistful of Dollars", which was digitally restored and probably screened on DCP.

[W]

Foxcatcher would suffer if it opened wide. It's not an "event" kind of film. Much more subdued and character-heavy. I think it'll struggle to go wide even in Jan, maybe 1000 theatres max but not much more.

A lot of the average moviegoers won't watch it, that is true. But the people that will see it for subject matter are more Midwestern/rural. The biggest wrestling states are Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, etc. Is it worth whatever those bring in to roll it out wide? I don't know.

[Buscemi]

I think people would see Foxcatcher more for the murder/true crime aspect than the wrestling aspect. And as I said, audiences will go see Channing Tatum in almost anything (even White House Down, a rare flop for him, grossed over $70 million). In a wide run, this could make $10 million opening weekend before the negative word of mouth from traditional filmgoers set in.

And one new date:
Strange Magic (an animated film based on an idea by George Lucas) 1/23/2015

[transformers2]

With Sony distributing, I'm sure Foxcatcher will have a painfully slow rollout like Whiplash is currently having. I'm sure it will go wide eventually (probably around Christmas), but even with Tatum, Carell and Ruffalo in the lead roles, I doubt it will have much of an audience.