J. A. Bayona's fantasy monster flick A MONSTER CALLS has been yanked back down the schedule once more. Last time, it was only moved back a week, but now it's sliding two months down. This might be in an effort to avoid competing with OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL, which looks against all odds like it'll be pretty good, but here's the interesting thing: the film will hit limited theaters on December 23rd, with a wide release to follow on January 6, 2017.
Does that seem familiar? It should to anybody who follows the Oscars, because that release schedule is smack dab in the middle of awards submission season. I'll be surprised if A MONSTER CALLS gets that kind of momentum, but a genre film getting this treatment is certainly an exciting development. Keep an eye on this one.
In A MONSTER CALLS:
12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother’s (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.
A MONSTER CALLS also stars Liam Neeson, Toby Kebbell, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver.