Lionsgate Dates 'Dirty Dancing' for July 26, 2013

5:16 PM PDT 11/3/2011 by Pamela McClintock

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Kenny Ortega

Kenny Ortega's update of the classic dancing film gets a prime summertime date; the Sam Raimi-produced horror-thriller "The Possession" moves from Jan. 6, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2012.

Lionsgate is counting on late summer to turn up strong business for Kenny Ortega's high-profile Dirty Dancing remake, setting a release date of July 26, 2013.

Debra Martin Chase is producing Dirty Dancing with Ortega, who has yet to announce the pic's cast. The updated movie will hit theaters 26 years after the first Dirty Dancing opened on Aug. 21, 1987, becoming a runaway blockbuster and catapulting Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze to fame.

Ortega's film will pay tribute to the classic tale of Baby's forbidden summer romance with Johnny Castle, while incorporating classic songs from the 1960s, hits from the original film and new compositions.

In another key move, Lionsgate has decided to push back the release of the Sam Raimi-produced horror-thriller The Possession -- starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick -- from Jan. 6, 2012, to Aug 31, 2012. The pic will now play over Labor Day weekend, a traditionally popular frame for genre fare.

The decision to relocate Possession comes after Paramount moved up the release of horror-thriller The Devil Inside from Feb. 24, 2012 to Jan. 6.