The Black Beauty's pulling over for a tune-up. Deadline’s just run a story announcing that the GREEN HORNET movie’s release date has been pushed back from Christmas weekend to Martin Luther King Day weekend. This is partly to - - you guessed it - - re-render the movie into 3D. The other “part” is pretty smart on Sony’s part. They’re moving it to January because December’s already packed with big flicks like TRON: LEGACY, the next (final?) HARRY POTTER movie, the YOGI BEAR movie, CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER and GULLIVER’S TRAVELS - - all of which are supposed to roll out in three dimensions.
I don’t pretend to be much of industry analyst or even that much of a bean counter, but I don’t think this is necessarily a sign of Sony “dumping” the movie into January. It seems like every year, now, you get a TAKEN or a PAUL BLART: MALL COP or a BOOK OF ELI, that perform better in January than people expected them to; it was only a matter of time before studios reevaluated that month. I’ve heard about GREEN HORNET opening on the same day as TRON for a while, which I figured would cut into both movies’ grosses, so I knew something had to give. It’s funny how movie line-ups often roll out like (or because of?) the economic market - - that is, I recall last Christmas season seeming to have a lot less big movies to watch while this coming one seems already packed with them.
You know, all this talk of market forces and demographics is running a little dry for me. I think it’s time for a battle thread, and I’m not just talking one-on-one. If you threw Kato, the Green Hornet, Tron, Harry Potter, Prince Caspian, Yogi Bear and Lemuel Gulliver into steel cage, oh royal-rumbling Comic Vine community… WHO WOULD COME OUT ALIVE?!??!
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Pre-order the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover now on Amazon.com.