Now that Comic-Con has passed, Warner Bros. and Universal have both pushed back two of their big name properties from their original release dates.
The first, Nightmare On Elm Street, is the mildest change, having been moved from a 16 April premiere to 30 April. The move is set so that the remake debuts in cinemas a week before the sequel to Iron Man 2, which seems like a suicidal move on the part of the major studio, unless it’s planning to mop up cinemagoers unable to get a ticket for presumably sold out screenings. Either way, it’s a risky manoeuvre from Universal that has the distinct potential to backfire horribly.
More ominous is Warner’s decision to put back Wolfman not by a matter of weeks, but months. Originally due to hit screens on 6 November 2009, it’s now been postponed until 12 February 2010. February is often considered a dumping ground for movies that studios feel don’t have much potential to succeed in a tentpole slot, however, as /Film points out, Coraline and Friday The 13th have done well there recently. This is not the first time that The Wolfman has been pushed back, of course. Originally scheduled for a November 2008 release, it was moved to early 2009 as far back as September 2007, before the original director Mark Romanek left the production due to creative differences. Joe Johnston replaced him, and the film was pushed back yet again to April 2009. The studio changed the date yet again to November 2009 after that, before moving it once more to February 2010. Whether this is due to incomplete effects work, worrying competition or reshoots is not immediately apparent, however, it does little to inspire confidence in the remake.
