STAR TREK RELEASE MOVED TO MAY, 2009 - NEWSARAMA

February 15th, 2008 | by admin |

Original Post here: Tales from the Longbox

STAR TREK RELEASE MOVED TO MAY, 2009

According to Paramount, Star Trek, the newest film which is to be a re-imagining/restart of the franchise by J.J. Abrams has seen its opening date move by over five months.
The film was originally supposed to open this Christmas Day (December 25th), but is now slated to open on May 8, 2009.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount is making several changes in its upcoming film slate as the studio reviews its movie plans post writers’ strike. As THR reports:
”Star Trek” arguably was the biggest film moved, with the intended Christmas Day release now set for the first prime date in the following summer boxoffice season: May 8, 2009. But “Trek” appears something of an exception in the mix of itinerant pics, with its shift unrelated to script or cast considerations.

“‘Star Trek’ is moving to summer because its has so much boxoffice potential,” Par spokesman Michael Vollman said. “It does not need any script tweaks. They’re two-thirds of the way through shooting, and we would have delivered a great movie at Christmas.”

The studio has now moved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button from a November 26th release to December 19th, most likely to boost its holiday box office. Not that Button (based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who lives backwards and is aging in reverse, and growing younger) will pull in the same audience as Trek would have, but it has Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in it.
Star Trek is now poised a the third of the “summer” movies of 2009 - Wolverine is due to open on May 1st, and Watchmen is slated for a May 6th release.