The Great Gatsby Moved to Summer 2013

Another significant feature film has been scheduled to a new date in 2013. Joining next to a gung-ho war toy flick, with its necessary new revisions of more Channing Tatum, will shockingly be The Great Gatsby, a film whose trailer I was not particularly fawned of.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. will move the film from its original, profitable, and Oscar-possible release date on December 25 of this year to an unknown date in summer 2013. The presidents of Warner Bros' distribution departments, who executed the release change, sent out a quote, saying they wished, "this unique film reaches the largest audience possible." No possible reason for the delay has been released yet.




The Hollywood Reporter does have a good first theory from this shocking news: Overcrowding the DiCaprio. Christmas Day would have featured two big-time film releases, both featuring Leonardo DiCaprio in prominent roles: The Great Gatsby and Django Unchained. The former would have been given more money love, with its expected PG-13 rating and popular source material, compared to the latter, which obviously will be rated R and have an adults-only crowd and lower weekend gross.

Outside of troubles with the 3D footage or possible creative differences between Luhrmann and the studio, I have no clue why Warner Bros. did this maneuver. Their pull quote rings a bit false for my tastes, though it does make sense to get a bigger box office take with a summer release. The thing is, other than the 3D aspect, what kid would want to see this during the dog days of summer? Why slog through moral falsehood, heavy-handed allegories, and the destruction of the American Dream when I can watch superheroes, or a peculiar art indie, or more superheroes? To make matters worst, especially for the American youth, this new release date will certainly cause some teachers around the nation to schedule and require their next year English students to read the book, see the film, and write an essay before the first day of school. With the December 2012 release date, these students could have had a field trip to the local mall. Way to piss off your audiences, Warner Bros.