Somewhere during the last few months Lionsgate has become my favorite studio. Ok, Focus Features probably still has a slight edge but the gap is closing fast. Everytime Lionsgate puts out news on their upcoming slate of films, I gotta stand up and take notice. Taking the initiative to capitalize on the success of male skewing actioners lately, Lionsgate has tweaked it's 2010 release schedule a little bit.
The undisputed darling of San Diego Comic-Con, Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar's dark vigilante comedy, Kick-Ass, has been given an April 16th release date. Lionsgate acquired the rights to the privately financed film only a few short weeks ago, and already it's looking like one of the lynchpins of their slate for next year. Wanna know what it'll be going against that weekend? SNL's MacGruber...Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock's Death at a Funeral...and Pirnha 3-D. I smell a blowout.
The Expendables, otherwise known as The Greatest Action Film Yet to be Released or GAFYR, has seen it's pushed back 4 months to August 20th. No reason is given, but I think Lionsgate realizes just how big of a phenomenon this movie can be with the proper marketing push, and placing it in the thick of the summer season gives it a big budget credibility that it otherwise wouldn't have had. Plus there is absolutely no competition on that date as of this time, which is a plus.
