Summer shapes up; Mouse shifts 'Herbie'; 'Dogtown' skates in
Daily Variety - January 13, 2005 - NEWS - Film News
By Gabriel Snyder
Jockeying among the studios for summer release dates continues to be fierce, with shifting skeds creating new head-to-head battles.
This week, Disney announced it was pushing one of its major summer 2005 titles, "Herbie: Fully Loaded" starring Lindsay Lohan, from June 3 to June 24. Seeing an opportunity, Sony quickly moved its mid-budgeted Heath Ledger skateboard pic "The Lords of Dogtown" onto the date from June 10.
Mouse House also skedded a new summer entry. It will release superhero coming-of-age story "Sky High," from "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" helmer Michael Mitchell, on Wednesday, July 27.
Disney distrib prexy Chuck Viane declined to discuss the strategy behind the move.
In the game of chess that is choosing summer release dates, no one likes to tip his hand too much, and further changes on the calendar are a certainty.
"Herbie" will now go up against Jim Carrey remake "Fun With ________ and Jane" on June 24, and the move means the redo of the Disney car classic has only five days before two blockbuster wannabes are skedded to launch over the July Fourth holiday: Fox's "Fantastic Four" bows June 29, followed by Paramount's Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise sci-fier "War of the Worlds" on July 1.
"Dogtown" will now go up against Universal's Russell Crowe boxing drama "Cinderella Man," which was once tipped as an Oscar contender for this year before production delays pushed the pic to 2005, and Warners' "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," which has the narrower aim of enthralling the teen girl aud.
Sony distrib chief Rory Bruer said of the move, "We always liked June 3 for ('Lords of Dogtown'), but it seemed crowded at the time. When 'Herbie' moved, it seemed like the perfect place to put it."
Entry of "Sky High" turns the July 29 weekend into (for now) something of a B.O. demolition derby: Also opening that weekend is Paramount's Cameron Crowe-helmed "Elizabethtown," Warners' potential franchise-launching title "The Dukes of Hazzard" and Sony's Josh Lucas-Jessica Biel action pic "Stealth," helmed by Rich Cohen, whose past summer hits include "XXX" and "The Fast and the Furious."
That makes for four films on the date that will be looking to draw young auds, though "Sky High" will be aiming younger than the other three.
Sony's Bruer said the crowd doesn't faze him. "We're so high on 'Stealth' that we're really comfortable," he said.
© 2005, Variety, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc
Daily Variety - January 13, 2005 - NEWS - Film News
By Gabriel Snyder
Jockeying among the studios for summer release dates continues to be fierce, with shifting skeds creating new head-to-head battles.
This week, Disney announced it was pushing one of its major summer 2005 titles, "Herbie: Fully Loaded" starring Lindsay Lohan, from June 3 to June 24. Seeing an opportunity, Sony quickly moved its mid-budgeted Heath Ledger skateboard pic "The Lords of Dogtown" onto the date from June 10.
Mouse House also skedded a new summer entry. It will release superhero coming-of-age story "Sky High," from "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" helmer Michael Mitchell, on Wednesday, July 27.
Disney distrib prexy Chuck Viane declined to discuss the strategy behind the move.
In the game of chess that is choosing summer release dates, no one likes to tip his hand too much, and further changes on the calendar are a certainty.
"Herbie" will now go up against Jim Carrey remake "Fun With ________ and Jane" on June 24, and the move means the redo of the Disney car classic has only five days before two blockbuster wannabes are skedded to launch over the July Fourth holiday: Fox's "Fantastic Four" bows June 29, followed by Paramount's Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise sci-fier "War of the Worlds" on July 1.
"Dogtown" will now go up against Universal's Russell Crowe boxing drama "Cinderella Man," which was once tipped as an Oscar contender for this year before production delays pushed the pic to 2005, and Warners' "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," which has the narrower aim of enthralling the teen girl aud.
Sony distrib chief Rory Bruer said of the move, "We always liked June 3 for ('Lords of Dogtown'), but it seemed crowded at the time. When 'Herbie' moved, it seemed like the perfect place to put it."
Entry of "Sky High" turns the July 29 weekend into (for now) something of a B.O. demolition derby: Also opening that weekend is Paramount's Cameron Crowe-helmed "Elizabethtown," Warners' potential franchise-launching title "The Dukes of Hazzard" and Sony's Josh Lucas-Jessica Biel action pic "Stealth," helmed by Rich Cohen, whose past summer hits include "XXX" and "The Fast and the Furious."
That makes for four films on the date that will be looking to draw young auds, though "Sky High" will be aiming younger than the other three.
Sony's Bruer said the crowd doesn't faze him. "We're so high on 'Stealth' that we're really comfortable," he said.
© 2005, Variety, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc