The Only Reason They'd Push 'Jupiter Ascending'

You've likely already heard the disappointing news that the highly-anticipated, Wachowski-helmed, Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum epic Jupiter Ascending' s release date has been pushed to February of 2015. Yikes. Not only is this bad news for those of us who were dying to see Kunis and Tatum star as the most gorgeous couple in the galaxy (not to mention the newly-engaged Eddie Redmayne as an Earth-destroying bad guy), it's really, really bad news for the film.

Here's the deal: Warner Bros.' official statement claimed that the film was being pushed because its special effects weren't finished. I call bullshit, and so do a lot of people. The rumor is that the film has been testing so poorly, the studio doesn't have confidence that it will be able to compete alongside anticipated hits like 22 Jump Street and Guardians of the Galaxy. Pushing a movie's release to February is like banishing it to the Island of Misfit Toys— that's too late for awards season, but too early to be up against any summer blockbusters, so that's the time when studios burn off the films they know people will only go see if there are no better options.

From the trailers, Jupiter Ascending looked like a bit of harmless fun, but the fact that Warner Bros as so little faith in it is very troublesome. My hope is that it's not that the film was too bad to put in front of summer audiences, but too weird. By the time the film is finally released, I wonder if it will be too late for the studio to convince audiences that it was worth the wait.

Image: Warner Bros.