The Latest Date Changes 2: The New Batch

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Surrounded hits VOD on June 20th, a rather unceremonious dump for Michael K. Williams' final film.

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Lionsgate has dated Imaginary for February 2nd, 2024.

They're remaking Drop Dead Fred into a horror movie, hmm

"In Imaginary, a young woman returns to her childhood home only to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and very unhappy she left."

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Remember when there were plans to remake Drop Dead Fred with Russell Brand as Fred?

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I have zero recollection of that, but it did seem like there was a time where Brand was attached to do a remake of about half the comedies from the 80's. Moving on...

New dates:
Bottoms 8/25/23
Untitled Radio Silence Monster Movie 4/19/24

Also, A24 has picked up he North American rights for John Crowley's We Live in Time.

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It was right around the time his Arthur remake flopped but studios were still high on Brand because of his UK popularity (something I will never figure out) and him working with Apatow. Eventually, the project died due to fan backlash.

Years earlier, New Line tried to make Drop Dead Fred 2 with Jim Carrey starring. However, they saw bigger and better things with Carrey and made a little movie called The Mask instead.

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New Sony dates (aka get ready to drop some titles from the FY draft league folks):
Psycho-Pass Providence 7/14/23
My Ex-Friend's Wedding 5/10/24
Horrorscope 6/28/24
Harold and the Purple Crayon 8/2/24 (from 6/30/23)
They Listen 8/30/24 (from 8/25/23)

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Harold and the Purple Crayon must be a total disaster, giving how its new date is over a year and a half after the original.

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Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has been picked up by Briarcliff in the US and will be released sometime in the fall of 2024.

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Is Liam Neeson in this one?

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Yes! He shows up in a post-credits scene to tease the long-awaited Den of Thieves/Honest Thief crossover movie.

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Remember Infidel, that movie Dinesh D'Souza produced where Jim Caviezel tries to prove his Islamophobia is justified through a cliche conspiracy thriller plot? It looks like were basically getting a sequel to that as the people behind The Chosen are releasing Angel of Freedom, headlined by Caviezel along with fellow Evangelical movie regular Mira Sorvino, on Independence Day. I'd expect a similar release to other Angel Studios titles were they get a decently-attended 1,000 theatre opener before fast drops.

Meanwhile, last year's Cannes opener, Final Cut, finally got a US distributor and will be released by Kino Lorber on July 14th. I was certain Shudder would pick this one up and bypass a traditional release.

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Erasure, now given the temporary title of Untitled Cord Jefferson Film, has been scheduled for a 11/3/2023 limited bow before expanding wide a week later.

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Sony has picked up the North American rights to Paddington 3

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I was sure Warner Bros. would have held onto them, given how much they love sequels and Paul King's Wonka opening in December.

But I do know that Sony really wanted to distribute Paddington 2 before getting outbid.

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The first film from the reformed Annapurna Pictures, Nimona, hits Netflix on June 30th.

Funny how both Ellisons now have rival animation labels connected with rival streaming services.