This was actually one of the films on my list of 2013 anticipated releases; but with this piece of news, I'll have to take it off that list (which I plan to post in the next day or two).

Box Office Mojo lists that Sony/Screen Gems has moved the release date for super-producer Will Packer's thriller, No Good Deed, from December October 18, 2013 to January 17, 2014.

I'm a bit puzzled by this move, because, also scheduled to open on January 17, 2014, is another Will Packer-produced film (except this one is for Universal, not Sony/Screen Gems), Ride Along, which stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.

No Good Deed, which stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson, centers on a former District Attorney, and mother of 2 young children (Henson), who are kidnapped and terrorized by a handsome but mysterious stranger (Elba), who she lets into their home to wait for help, after his car runs off the road nearby.

I'm guessing that one of these 2 films is going to move to another date – maybe Universal will push Ride Along to an earlier or later debut, because I'd say that both films, from all we know of each thus far, will likely be targetting somewhat similar audiences.

Will Packer certainly knows his audience, as he's proving with past films – most recently Think Like A Man, which was immensely successful for Sony/Screen Gems. But I don't think he'd want to be working 2 major releases simultaneously. 

And even if Packer wasn't producing both (Ice Cube's Cube Vision is co-producer on Ride Along, by the way), it still wouldn't seem very smart for both studios to release their individual films during the same weekend.

Unless I'm just completely missing something here. Maybe one film will be marketed to an older, heavily female audience (No Good Deed), while the other will be shopped to younger, mostly male audiences (Ride Along).

Sam Miller (Luther) directed No Good Deed from a script by Aimee Lagos (96 Minutes).

Hart co-stars with Cube in Ride Along as a high school security guard who is ready to get married, but first he must survive a Training Day-like ride along experience with her tough cop brother, who doesn’t want the marriage to happen and tries to scare off the suitor.

Tim Story is directing.