I'm very mixed on the idea of a Summer release. On the one hand, it can get buried under the pile with all the big budget films. But on the other hand, when wouldn't it without being released in an off month? Thanksgiving is prone to big blockbusters anyway, but they only really make their money that weekend, and box office drops off significantly during the Christmas buying season other than that. A January/February release could work to get kids into the theaters during vacation weeks. At least it gets a good solid week, especially if it's the only kid's movie. Look how well "Unfunny Gnomes make Romeo and Juliet Less Funny" did. No one saw that coming, especially considering Disney released it as a contractual obligation and chucked it when no one would see it.I think a summer release for this movie might be a really terrible idea. Sure, Muppet Fans will go, parents will take their kids to see it, and ironic teenagers will snicker through it. But summer is a time for big budget blockbusters, and the Muppets have never been "big" films. They're small, sweet, and modest, not loud, brash, and explosive.
Here's the thing, and I'm very guilty of it too. It's easy to be worried that a Muppet Movie won't do well and the franchise will be completely shut down as a result. We want to see this movie released with as little competition AND as big an audience as we can get, and that's another slim Venn Diagram. Summer would have the potential for a huge audience but would lose it if they released it opposite some bigger, flashier kid's movie. Winter would have the potential for no major competition, but is it really going to get the audience it deserves? And my question. Let's say Disney's big budget Oz movie, also set to be released in March, bombs. Will they change the date, or will they just keep it because Muppet Films are pretty low budget?
Ehhhh... I don't know. I really wish Aardman had the ability to stand on it's own two feet, since things haven't been great for them with the partners they had. They had Trouble with Dreamworks (even though the three movies they released did well enough), and Sony's not getting them the promotion and release dates they deserve. Pirates had no promotion other than trailers and commercials, probably since TRU just can't get rid of all the Arthur Christmas merchandise they have. And I so wanted Pirate Captain and Bobo merchandise. Not even a freaking Happy Meal.A Reason Disney Should BUY Aardman