"Elysium," otherwise known as the "Bald Matt Damon movie," gets an August release date.
Well, there goes one of the more buzzed about movies of summer 2013. Sony Pictures announced that “RoboCop” will move off its August 9th date to February 7, 2014. Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium,” which stars Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, and Sharlto Copley, will shift from March to August 9th.
One half of the explanation is that Blomkamp’s previous film, “District 9,” was a surprise hit when it was released in 2009 in August. Apparently Sony thinks “Elysium” has a lot of potential, so like “RoboCop,” they’re giving it that “thinking fan’s sci-fi movie” slot which seems to be emerging in August, thanks to the success of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” “Elysium” will face “We’re the Millers,” with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis.
It’s not clear if the real reason for the move is that they think “Elysium” is going to be a big deal or if “RoboCop” won’t be ready. Jose Padilha has been filming it over the past month or so, and maybe they feel that whatever effects work is necessary is going to slow it down. Whichever, no one can be excited about an early February date. It will go up against “Need for Speed,” with Aaron Paul.
Finally, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2″ will open on September 27, 2013, moving away from that February 7th, 2014 date.
Whew!! Got all that?
