When Avengers: Infinity War last week moved its release date up a week from May 4 to Friday, April 27, fans were naturally excited. What we forget is that even a small change in release date for a mammoth film like Infinity War has major consequences for other films. In a smart move, the Dwayne Johnson vs genetically enhanced monster action film, Rampage, has moved its release up a week.
Not wanting to compete alongside Infinity War, the film will now be released Friday, April 13. Yes, you’re right, even at its original release date of Friday, April 20 it was not going to be directly competing against the Marvel juggernaut, but it’s been moved to preserve the two week cushion before Avengers obliterates the box office and leaves every other film in the dust.
This has meant that Warner Bros. are stepping on their own toes a little, as Rampage – coming from New Line, WB’s sister studio – and its new release date is slightly closer to another big Warner Bros. film, Steven Spielberg‘s Ready Player One, which was intended to have a comfortable three week run at the top as the only major tentpole release.
Such is the impact of the MCU, whose own decision to move Infinity War‘s release date up a week was to create more space between them and the upcoming spinoff, Solo: A Star Wars Story.
We’ll probably never know if these slightly alterations in release strategy make a huge difference at the box office, but it will be interesting to track nonetheless.
Rampage reunites Johnson with director Brad Peyton (San Andreas), and is an adaptation of the 1980s video game where a primatologist has to save the day when three genetically-altered beasts – a gorilla, a wolf, and a crocodile – cause havoc and panic across the nation. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
#Peace.Love.Rampage
