‘Jupiter Ascending’ Skips Out of Summer and Moves to February 2015

The later part of this summer has already seen a lot of titles move and shift from one week to the next, but now The Wachowski's 'Jupiter Ascending' has bowed out of the summer box office battlefield altogether. The film, which stars Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis, is now set to open February 6, 2015.

Though a move this drastic makes the film look wounded (and possibly terrible), it doesn't always portend box office doom. The good version of this would be 'G. I. Joe: Retaliation,' which was similarly delayed from a June 2012 release date to March 2013 where it made $375 million worldwide, though -- as 'Jupiter' is already 3D -- Warner Brothers can't say 'Jupiter' delay is to post-convert the film as Paramount did with 'Retaliation.' The bad version of this is 'Jack the Giant Slayer,' which was similarly moved from the summer of 2012 to the spring of 2013, only to make less than $200 million worldwide (on a budget of $195 million).

Recently 'Sex Tape' moved up a week to open on July 18, the same day 'Jupiter Ascending' was originally slated for, while the slightly similar 'Lucy' also recently moved up from August 8 to July 25, so perhaps other studios sensed 'Jupiter' not being strong competition. The time frame is already crowded, with 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' scheduled for July 11, and 'Hercules' plotted for July 25. Warner Brothers, probably sensing too much direct competition and having to market an unconventional summer movie (that is to say, not part of a preexisting brand, and lacking a one sentence descriptor), decided to move it out of the summer season, and into the slot they had great luck with this year's 'The LEGO Movie,' which is probably for the best.