The cost and time associated with making and then editing, promoting and releasing a film is insane, with studios and productions companies often spending years and a bunch of cash before giving the green light on a movie.
With so much competition out there, it can be tough to decide what date is best for a film to hit theaters, which is why some movies get stopped before entering the box office door.
For whatever reasons or factors, here are 12 movies who were slated for a 2016 release, but have been pushed to 2017 or beyond, with a few finding themselves on the “unknown release” date.
Whether the changes will serve them well is something we’ll have to wait and see.
Jumanji
- Scheduled Release Date: December 25th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: December 22nd, 2017
The announcement of a second Jumanji was both celebrated and discouraged, but, regardless of what side of the fence you fell on, the film’s anticipated release got pushed back almost an entire year.
Rather than hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2016, the Jumanji reboot is now slated for about the same time this year, as the studio believed it’s a more family-friendly film than one that should compete with the action films often released over summer. Time will tell.
Bastards
- Scheduled Release Date: November 4th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: January 27th, 2017
Falling victim to competition for being bumped—Bastards was originally going to release the same weekend as Doctor Strange—the comedy has now snagged a January 27th slot for this year, which seems a little safer.
Starring Owen Wilson and Ed Helms, who play brothers looking to find what happened to their dad after being told at a young age by their mother that he died, this is one of those movies that just seems like it’ll perform best with the college crowds.
Gambit
- Scheduled Release Date: October 7th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: Unknown
If there’s one thing that’s been proven over the past decade or so, it’s that audiences love comic books movies. That’s why the delay in the movie Gambit from last October to an unknown date is a little surprising.
Starring Channing Tatum in the X-Men spinoff, frustrated fans will just have to wait to see what eventually happens with this movie, because it’s currently just sitting around somewhere.
Strangers 2
- Scheduled Release Date: December 2nd, 2016
- Expected Release Date: Unknown
To this day, the original Strangers remains of the creepiest horror movies ever. Even with its simplistic plot and low-budget, it’s something relatable for the audience, leaving many scared to even be in their own homes!
Who knows if the sequel will be as good or not, but one must be concerned following the delayed release and no current reschedule as of yet.
There’s a good chance that we may just see Strangers 2 sold to a different studio company before it actually ever sees the light of day.
The Great Wall
- Scheduled Release Date: November 23rd, 2016
- Expected Release Date: February 17th, 2017
Starring Matt Damon—who, alone, will draw fans to the box office—The Great Wall is part of several films which, currently, are slated for a February 17th release this year.
For any and all of the reasons it originally got bumped from its November 23rd, 2016 release date, it did perform fairly well its Chinese opening about two weeks ago—raking in $67.4 million—which will only help build anticipation for the U.S. debut.
A Cure for Wellness
- Scheduled Release Date: September 23rd, 2016
- Expected Release Date: February 17th, 2017
The official trailer for A Cure For Wellness looks great, making this a film that many of us will most likely go see. Problem is, the mystery/drama has had to be bumped for a number of reasons—which were both sort of out of its hands.
Rather than compete with Sony’s The Magnificent Seven last September and not get the full support of FOX during Avatar 2 production, this film ended up being pushed to this year. No biggie, though, because it still looks like it’ll be a winner.
Friday The 13th
- Scheduled Release Date: May 13th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: October 13th, 2017
Strategically speaking, Paramount wants to release this film on, surprise, the actual Friday the 13th for the year, so the delay between dates is understood. And, honestly, what more could this film ask for than that day falling in October in 2017?
Going from May, 2016 prior to the summer blockbusters to October, 2017 in the midst of Halloween season will serve this movie well. After all, who watches Friday The 13th any other time of year?
Patient Zero
- Scheduled Release Date: September 2nd, 2016
- Expected Release Date: February 17th, 2017
There are an abundance or issues that have delayed the release of the Matt Smith’s Patient Zero, but one of the biggest might be the fact that there hasn’t even been a trailer released yet, so there’s nothing to tease audiences with.
That’s always a problem, considering the film’s scheduled release is for February 17th, 2017—which is about six weeks away already.
Rings
- Scheduled Release Date: April 1st/October 28th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: February 3rd, 2017
Trying to reboot the Ring series, this aptly-titled Rings was supposed to find itself in theaters twice in 2016—April 1st/October 28th, 2016—with plans for both falling through.
One reason was the ongoing news about the Paramount Pictures sales, and the other was the competitive—or dying—horror film genre. Anyone whose seen the trailer for Rings knows it looks decent, but, unfortunately, it’s just been pushed back until February of this year.
Amityville: The Awakening
- Scheduled Release Date: April 1st/15th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: June 30th, 2017
While the original Amityville Horror film from 1979 has stood the test of time—and even had a 2005 sequel that’s equally as creepy—the next film in the long line from the series, Amityville: The Awakening, doesn’t seem to come with as much acclaim.
This film was actually supposed to release on January 2, 2015, then the film’s studio got sold. Then test screening replies weren’t great. Then, the film was allegedly going to earn a PG-13 rating, delaying it even more to its current release date of June 30th, 2017.
Monster Trucks
- Scheduled Release Date: March 18th, 2016
- Expected Release Date: January 13th, 2017
After originally slated for an early-2015 release date, Paramount Pictures decided to strip some extra fat off of the movie Monster Trucks and delay it until last spring. Of course, that plan went to shambles since that was around the same time Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice hit the box office, thus, delaying this movie until 2017.
Same Kind of Different As Me
- Scheduled Release Date: April 29, 2016
- Expected Release Date: October 20, 2017
Starring Greg Kinnear, Renee Zellweger and Djimon Hounsou, Same Kind of Different as Me is the inspiring film adaptation of a book—and true story—with the same title.
Expected to land in theaters last April, Paramount decided that, after being previewed, it would best be slotted into a February, ’17 release instead. However, the major production company decided to offload the film to PureFlix—a faith-based movie distributor—which will now release it on October 20, 2017.