Hot on the heels of Warner Bros. moving Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom to Friday, December 22, 2023, and Robert De Niro’s Alto Knights to later in 2024, Disney is doing its version of the release date shuffle for two of its upcoming releases. Additionally, Searchlight is no longer opening Magazine Dreams, starring Jonathan Majors, on December 8. Majors faces a trial date on November 29, 2023, for a domestic violence case involving his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari.
Meanwhile, Disney will push its live-action adaptation of Snow White from March 22, 2024, to March 21, 2025, with Disney/Pixar’s Elio going from March 1, 2024, to June 13, 2025. The shuffle stems from uncertainty about the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
Other projects jumping ship include an untitled Disney feature moving from February 14, 2024, to April 5, 2024. Disney is also pulling The Bikeriders from its December 1 theatrical release because Queen B, Beyonce, is dropping a concert film in theaters, and, of course, the actors’ strike.
In Magazine Dreams, an amateur bodybuilder (Jonathan Majors) struggles with severe psychological issues while dreaming of stardom. Harrison Page, Harriet Sansom Harris, Haley Bennett, and Michael O’Hearn join Majors as primary cast members. Our own Chris Bumbray experienced the Elijah Bynum-directed film during Sundance, saying it’s “the kind of film that will likely inspire a lot of discourse, with buzz out of Sundance being overwhelmingly positive.”
If Majors is found guilty, he could spend a year in jail. Yesterday, after a New York judge rejected Majors’ request to throw the case out, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office said they would not prosecute his accuser, Grace Jabbari.
“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has officially declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit,” a spokesperson for DA Alvin Bragg said Thursday morning. “The matter is now closed and sealed.”
Is it wise for Searchlight to pull Magazine Dreams from its schedule until Majors’ case gets sorted? How much longer do you think the SAG-AFTRA strike will continue? Is a year too long to push Snow White and Elio? Let us know what you think in the comments section.