Release date hot potato continues in Hollywood, as THR tell us that Relativity Media has pushed back Tarsem‘s Mirror, Mirror to March 30th, two weeks later than its original date of March 16th. The March 30th slot was originally slated to be taken by Sony’s claymation comedy The Pirates! Band of Misfits but the studio has pushed that back to April 27th. The reason for Mirror, Mirror‘s move? The same as always: money. Relativity is banking on March 30th-April 8th as being a cash cow, as it includes both spring break for public school kids, but also Easter weekend, the latter being the more profitable since everyone is off — not just the young ones.
And, yes, that would be a sound business decision if that time frame wasn’t already crowded. With the release date change, Mirror, Mirror will now be going head to head with Wrath of the Titans, the big budget sequel to 2010’s hit Clash of the Titans. (A movie that should, in theory, make a ton of money and continue to feed the myth that Sam Worthington is a box office draw.) Mirror, Mirror does have the “counterprogramming” advantage, but I could see more families heading to the former rather than the latter.
Not only that, but the 3D re-release of Titanic hits theaters on April 6th along with other movies (American Reunion and, look out, The Three Stooges); depending on how well The Hunger Games connects with audiences when it’s released a week before on March 23rd, it could eat into the demographic Mirror, Mirror hopes to lure in. To sum it up: Mirror, Mirror may be moving for monetary reasons, but with so many others coming out the same time they may have just shot themselves in the foot. Plus there’s the fact that the Mirror, Mirror trailer has been met with more scorn than adulation. That could be an issue as well.
I’m no businessman, however, so there’s a good chance I’m wrong with my hypothesis. I guess we’ll see when Mirror, Mirror hits on March 30th.
Does this sound like a smart move?