2011, the year the studios go to war!
God help any small indie flick being released between April and September, because 2011 is one hell of a year for blockbusters. Not only is there a plethora of comic book movies fighting it out for our cash, but sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers are getting major 3D releases. The mega-plex is a sodding battlefield.
Marvel Studios have already made a move to dominate the summer by scheduling their two major releases 3 months apart, Thor in late April and Captain America: The First Avenger in July. This closely mimics their successful release strategy for Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008, and takes advantage of an early summer release slot.
20th Century Fox will just make it in between Marvel’s goal posts releasing X-Men: First Class in early June before Warner Bros put out The Green Lantern later in the month, hopefully getting a share of the 3D cinema screens. Since most cinema chains have only installed a limited number of them in each multiplex, films must make enough money to keep being shown, or fear being chucked out for the next release. This is something X Men: First Class could do very well from.
We’ll also be looking forward to Cowboys and Aliens, which although made by major players, has been made to look like an outsider due to all the other stuff! Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Harrison Ford is a cowboy going up against some aliens… ACE.invisible
So… expect to see every bus stop, newspaper and tube station covered in posters and marketing guff at least 4-6 weeks before a films release date, if not before. Most studios will be heading into 2011 cursing a lack of planning and proper release strategy, and as audience members we can only hope that the quality of the actual films won’t be affected. 2011 is going to be mega year for blockbuster films, and we can only wait for Mr. Branagh to kick it all off on April 29th.
Will Pond.
