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GHOST RIDER FLICK GETS RELEASE DATE CHANGE
by Newsarama
It was set to be one of the superhero movies of the summer of 2006, but, according to Variety, Sony’s Ghost Rider, an adaptation of the Marvel comic character, has been bumped into early 2007 or, schedule-wise, from July 14, 2006 to President’s Day weekend (February 17th), 2007.
According to the trade, the move comes as Sony and other studios are reevaluating their ’06 release slates, seeking to optimize their films’ release dates and, intimately, box office take. Sony itself has six other films scheduled for release during the summer of ’06, not to mention Fox’s X3 on Memorial Day weekend, and Superman Returns on June 30th, not to mention Sony’s own super-hero entry, Zoom based on the Zoom’s Academy comic series, which is bumped from early summer to August 11th, after Fox and Marvel rattled legal sabers, claiming that it was too similar to X3 to open so close to the film.
The move by the studio underlines what Marvel’s Avi Arad said when Marvel’s deal to produce their own films with distribution handled by Paramount was announced, claiming that by entering into the development and production of their properties, Marvel would no longer be at the mercy of the studios in regards to scheduled releases.
Given the move, Marvel now finds itself rescheduling, and possibly re-negotiating its collection of licensing and tie-in deals with licensees who were set to release products in conjunction with the build-up to the film. Likewise, it’s virtually certain that Marvel will adjust its 2006 financial forecast due to the move, as “nominal contributions” from its ’06 feature films, including Ghost Rider were cited as factors that would pay into Marvel’s licensing coffers in the coming year.
In regards to licensed goods, news of the movie’s move comes just days after it was announced that Majesco, which was due to distribute the Ghost Rider videogame, had sold the distribution right to both that game and the videogame based on Top Cow’s Darkness property in order to help its own financial crisis. The new distributor of the two games was not named, and its unclear whether or not the Ghost Rider game will be held for nearly a year for release, given that the game’s production costs that both developer and distributor would like to recoup as quickly as possible.
Finally, as for the date of the move…February isn’t where one traditionally finds Oscar contenders, and has even been referred to as the dumping ground of the release year, but that’s not to say that money makers can’t be released during the month. Ironically, in looking for a big February box office with a Marvel property, Ghost Rider director Mark Steven Johnson will be competing against himself, as Daredevil, which he directed opened in February of 2003. Ghost Rider’s budget is reportedly in the $120 million neighborhood.
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