The Bourne Legacy Jeremy Renner - H 2012
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Universal Pictures has bumped the release date ofThe Bourne Legacy from Aug. 3 to Aug. 10, citing fears of the box-office juggernaut that The Dark Knight Rises is likely to be. Another big factor is Sony’s Total Recall, also scheduled to open on Aug. 3.
Dark Knight, the third installment of the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman franchise, is set to hit U.S. theaters July 20, two weeks before the Jeremy Renner-fronted reboot of the Bourne franchise was scheduled to open. Now Bourne will have three weeks between it and what’s sure to be one of the top-grossing films of summer.
The move also allows Universal to avoid a direct showdown with Sony’s Total Recall reboot, starring Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale. Both films are targeting males, and many exhibitors had questioned why they were going out on the same date.
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Insiders tell The Hollywood Reporter that Universal ultimately decided to do what was best for the film instead of digging its heels in. They also said Bourne Legacy is testing better than the two previous films in the series.
The studio’s statement regarding the move focused on Dark Knight, as well as the opportunity to use the Summer Olympics to promote Bourne.
“Just as The Avengers demonstrated marketplace sustainability that well outpaced traditional patterns earlier this summer, the industry expects a similar trajectory for The Dark Knight Rises. Moving one week further from its release will give The Bourne Legacy an even greater opportunity to maximize its opening box-office potential,” the statement said.
“Moving to Aug. 10 will also allow us to extend valuable promotion for the film across all NBCUniversal platforms during the Olympics, which will dominate television and digital audiences beginning July 27. We are excited about this new chapter in our Bourne franchise and confident that Aug. 10 is the right date for our film and for our industry as a whole.”
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