Sony is pushing their Spider-Man family title Madame Web from July 7 to Oct. 6, 2023. That first weekend of October has been a gold mine for the Culver lot where they own the month’s second and third biggest openings with Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($90M) and Venom ($80.2M).
S.J. Clarkson directs off Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless’s script about a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities allow her to see within the spider world itself. Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahir Rahim, Mike Epps and Adam Scott star in the Marvel Comics movie. Warner Bros. already has an untitled event movie on the Oct. 6 date next year.
In addition Sony is moving a Marvel Universe title from Oct. 6, 2023 to June 7, 2024. Um, the next Spider-Man, anyone? The title is the only one on that weekend to date.
New on the calendar for Sony is the Russell Crowe exorcism movie from Screen Gems, The Pope’s Exorcist, going on April 7, 2023, Easter weekend. Crowe plays real-life figure Father Gabriele Amorth, a priest who acted as chief exorcist of the Vatican and who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime. Julius Avery directs. The holiday frame also has Illumination Entertianment/Universal’s Super Mario Brothers movie, an untitled Warner Bros movie and United Artists Releasing’s On a Wing and a Prayer.
There’s also a fifth Insidious from Screen Gems on July 7, 2023. The pic reps Patrick Wilson’s directorial debut and picks up with the Lamberts ten years after the last installment, as Dalton (Ty Simpkins) begins college. Pic stars Wilson and Ty Simpkin. A Warner Bros untitled event movie is also on the same weekend.
Marc Forster’s A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks will debut earlier than expected, on Dec. 14 this year, instead of Christmas Day. That’s the Wednesday before 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water opens.
Also going earlier is the untitled George Foreman biopic from George Tillman, Jr. which moves to March 31 next year instead of April 7. Paramount/Spyglass Media’s Scream sequel is schedule on George Foreman’s new date.
The Adam Driver sci-fi pic 65, about an astronaut who crash lands on a mysterious planet, will open April 28, 2023 instead of April 14 next year. Pic is from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, and lands on a weekend where Lionsgate has the female skewing, feature take of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.