For any movie, being booted from a studio’s summer release schedule is usually a huge red flag that it stinks to high hell and not even an otherwise slow weekend can save it. For what is supposed to be a blockbuster Sci-Fi film from the duo that brought us The Matrix, though, being bumped from July to February might as well be a death rattle for everyone involved. And yet with Jupiter Ascending, there haven’t been any rumors or terrible stories from the set that suggest that the Wachowski siblings were in over their heads or Warner Bros. execs just couldn’t wrap their heads around Channing Tatum dressed like a Vulcan werewolf. In fact, the only problem seems to be that Warner didn’t know how to market it.
In the meantime, two new TV spots have been running this week, and there’s a chance that Warner is hoping that Eddie Redmayne’s huge award buzz for The Theory of Everything is going to give Jupiter Ascending a little boost at the box office. However, with a reported budget of $175 million, it’s going to take that buzz and C-Tates and Mila Kunis at their most charming to make this film a success. Jupiter Ascending debuted at a private screening at Sundance, and according to a festival attendee, it was met with “scoffing and sneering.”
At least the latest TV spots make the film seem pretty exciting, and who knows? Maybe Sean Bean lives. Jupiter Ascending opens on Feb. 6.
(H/T to The Playlist)
