Film Will Square Off Against Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘The Last Stand’
While January is generally considered a dumping ground for studio leftovers, don’t tell that to Mark Wahlberg. His upcoming thriller “Contraband” is slated for release on January 13, 2012 and it looks like the actor wants to keep starting off your year with a bang, because he’s got another film a year later, pretty much right in the same frame.
The crime noir “Broken City” co-starring Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones will now land on January 18, 2013 via 20th Century Fox who have acquired the film, reports THR. Set to be directed by Allen Hughes, the dark tale follows Billy Taggart (Wahlberg), an ex-cop thrown off the force after shooting a 16-year-old kid. Eight years on, he’s working as a private detective and is hired by the colorful incumbent in the New York mayoral race to investigate his wife’s infidelity. Taggart, however, digs up much, much more including a shady real estate deal in a story of city corruption that is not unlike “Chinatown.” Crowe will play the mayor, with Zeta-Jones as his philandering wife. But the movie will have some big competition that weekend.
Lionsgate has already slated “The Last Stand” with Arnold Schwarzenegger for that date, so somebody is gonna have to blink as they will be playing right to the same crowd. But there is still plenty of time for release date jostling to happen. This is another high profile flick to go to the typically awful early winter frame. Tom Cruise‘s “One Shot” is another straight genre piece that will be arriving on February 8, 2013. With summer dates now getting more and more competitive, it seems studios are trying to find gaps in the calendar where they can have a bit more breathing room to play as evidenced by the move of “Thor 2” to November 15, 2013. Whether this roll of the dice will pay off remains to be seen — those pesky students are still in school and not looking to occupy their time. But it’s the mark of a trend that is worth keeping an eye on.