Some release date shifting at Lionsgate, plus new date assignments for the major-mini.
First, the release date for its big screen adaptation of erotic fiction writer Zane’s popular novel Addicted, which was previously set for a March 14, 2014 release date, has been pushed back 6 months to September 5, 2014. As of today, it’s the only film scheduled for release on that day, although I’m sure that’ll change eventually. So it has no competition, although I should mention that the following week, the Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson thriller No Good Deed will open.
Addicted follows the trials and tribulations of a successful sex-addicted African American professional woman, and stars Sharon Leal, Tasha Smith, Boris Kodjoe, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Tyson Beckford and William Levy, in a Paul Hall production, with Bille Woodruff directing.
Secondly, Tyler Perry’s Single Moms Club, which was originally set for a May 9, 2014 release, will move up 2 months to take over the March 14, 2014 slot previously occupied by Addicted. It will now face competition from Nicole Kidman in Grace Of Monaco and the action-drama Need For Speed, starring Aaron Paul, neither being a sure-thing at the box office, which bodes well for Tyler Perry’s film.
Nia Long, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Zulay Henao star in Single Moms Club, and are joined by William Levy, Terry Crews, Eddie Cibrian, Amy Smart, Cocoa Brown, Ryan Eggold and Tyler Perry himself.
Single Mom’s Club centers on a group of single mothers from varying backgrounds (Long, McLendon-Covery, Henao), who are brought together via an incident at the school their children attend, leading to the creation of a support group that helps all of them overcome personal obstacles.
And finally, Lionsgate has set an April 11, 2014 release date for its Ivan Reitman sports drama Draft Day.
The film stars Kevin Costner as an NFL team’s General Manager who is faced with tough professional and personal choices in the 24-hour period of the NFL Draft.
Chadwick Boseman, Sean Combs, Terry Crews, Chi McBride, David Ramsey, and Arian Foster (who actually plays for the Houston Texans) are all members of the film’s cast, which also includes Jennifer Garner, Ellen Burstyn, Denis Leary and Frank Langella.
Expect a crowded first half of 2014 for “black films” (or films with black casts) in what I’m sure will be referred to as another banner year for black cinema. Scheduled to hit theaters early in 2014 include the remake of the 1986 rom-com, About Last Night, starring Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant and Regina Hall, which Will Packer is producing; Also Ride Along, Ice Cube’s action comedy, which stars Cube, and Kevin Hart (again) Tika Sumpter, and Jay Pharoah, also produced by Will Packer, with Tim Story directing.
