1st Quarter Wide Release Preview 2011
One of the things I loved about working at a theatre as a teenager was how easy it was to keep up with the current film release schedule. Aside from popping into auditoriums at the start of each showing to check out bad-ass trailers, my favorite past-time was reading Cinescape magazine's seasonal film previews. Looking back it still surprises me how amped I'd get for a movie based solely on Cinescape's miserly offering of a single image, a two-sentence synopsis and a limited amount of production info. In honor of the seasonal preview here's my first stab at a film release schedule, one quarter at a time. Each movie is linked to its trailer, so if you're unsure about a flick simply click on its movie title to get a vid.
January through March is one of the slowest times of the year for theatre traffic, but luckily Legendary Pictures and Zack Snyder put March back on the box office map with the 2006 debut of 300. This year is no different with the late March release of Sucker Punch, in my opinion the first big fanboy release of the year (prove me wrong Green Hornet).
Nicolas Cage is also busy acting his way out of debt in early 2011, releasing the already debuted Season of the Witch and late February's Drive Angry, the latter of which should hopefully add more fodder to Cage's "losing his shit" youtube compilation. The first quarter of the year also shows just how far Channing Tatum has come from his Step Up roots, boasting a role in the Vince Vaughn-headlined The Dilemma and a lead in the intriguing, mid-February Roman flick The Eagle.
Other soon-to-be-released action features include Jason Statham's The Mechanic, Disney's I am Number Four and Liam Neeson's new international suspense thriller Unknown. Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson's Hall Pass highlights a healthy selection of romantic comedies, rounded out by Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher's No Strings Attached and the retro-cute Take Me Home Tonight starring Anna Farris and Topher Grace. A refreshing rotation of international film is also coming our way March 18th courtesy of Sony Picture Classics with the domestic release of Winter in Wartime, a Dutch picture on the 2010 shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film.
January
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Title
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Release Date
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Distributor
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January 7, 2011
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Sony / Screen Gems
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January 7, 2011
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Relativity Media
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January 14, 2011
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Universal
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January 14, 2011
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Sony Pictures
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January 14, 2011
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Lionsgate
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January 21, 2011
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Paramount Pictures
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January 21, 2011
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Newmarket Films
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January 28, 2011
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Lionsgate
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January 28, 2011
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CBS Films
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January 28, 2011
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Warner Brothers
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February
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Title
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Release Date
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Distributor
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February 4, 2011
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Sony / Screen Gems
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February 4, 2011
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Universal
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February 11, 2011
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Focus Features
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February 11, 2011
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Miramax
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February 11, 2011
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Sony / Columbia
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February 11, 2011
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Paramount Pictures
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February 18, 2011
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20th Century Fox
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February 18, 2011
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Walt Disney Pictures
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February 18, 2011
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Warner Brothers
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February 25, 2011
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Summit Entertainment
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February 25, 2011
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New Line
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March
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Title
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Release Date
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Distributor
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March 4, 2011
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Universal
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March 4, 2011
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Overture Films
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March 4, 2011
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Paramount Pictures
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March 11, 2011
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Sony / Columbia
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Beautiful Girl
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March 11, 2011
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Sony / Screen Gems
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March 11, 2011
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Walt Disney Pictures
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March 11, 2011
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Warner Brothers
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March 18, 2011
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CBS Films
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March 18, 2011
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Relativity Media
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March 18, 2011
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Lionsgate
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March 18, 2011
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Universal
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March 18, 2011
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Sony Picture Classics
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March 25, 2011
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20th Century Fox
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March 25, 2011
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Animated Family Films
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March 25, 2011
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Warner Brothers
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The best trailer of the quarter without a doubt goes to Jonathan Liebesman's Battle: Los Angeles, an alien invasion flick that's following in the same gritty, POV-driven vein as Cloverfield and District 9. Tight editing and a mesmerizing feature track by Johann Johannsson push this trailer above and beyond its quarterly competition; if you haven't seen it yet, enjoy.
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Total Comments: 2
Crux Jan 20 2011 3:15pm
Patrick Ferrara Jan 20 2011 3:55pm