'Ender's Game' Pushed Back 8 Months to November 2013

1:10 PM PDT 4/9/2012 by Pamela McClintock

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Summit's film adaptation of the young-adult novel will now open three weeks before its parent company Lionsgate is set to bow "Catching Fire," the next installment in the "Hunger Games" franchise.

Originally set to open on March 13, 2013 -- the eve of the lucrative Easter corridor -- Gavin Hood's Ender's Game has been pushed back to Nov. 1, 2013.

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Summit Entertainment is partnering on the film with Odd Lot Entertainment and is handling domestic distribution duties.

The new date means Ender's Game will open three weeks before Summit's parent company Lionsgate is scheduled to roll out Catching Fire on Nov. 22 as the sequel to its blockbuster The Hunger Games. (Lionsgate hopes to begin shooting Catching Fire in late summer and is in the midst of trying to return Gary Ross to the director's chair.)

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Lionsgate and Summit hope to boost interest in Ender's Game by opening it so closely to Catching Fire, since they can use the Hunger Games sequel to publicize Ender's Game. Also, delaying the release will allow Summit and Lionsgate to market and publicize a fully finished film. (Hood is still shooting.)

Ender's Game stars Asa Butterfield as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, an unusually gifted child who is sent to a special military school where he trains to fight aliens. The cast also includes Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld and Ben Kingsley.

The departure of Ender's Game leaves no wide releases opening March 13; the date is sure to be snapped up quickly.