Ever since Star Wars: Episode VII moved its release date to 18 December 2015, we have been anticipating a domino effect of rescheduled movies, with studios unlikely to want to go up against J.J. Abrams and co.
The most obvious candidate was always going to be Duncan Jones’ Warcraft adaptation, which had initially been scheduled for the same day, and Warner Bros has indeed decided to take the sensible option and cede territory…
Warcraft will now open on 11 March 2016, giving audiences a three-month buffer to get the Star Wars effect out of their systems and regain their appetite for another sci-fi/fantasy blockbuster.
While Duncan Jones had joked on Twitter about the prospect of a head-to-head, it would seem a prudent move on Warner’s part, particularly given the large amount of crossover between the two fanbases.
Expect a few more titles to follow suit in the next couple of weeks, with Star Wars likely to enjoy more or less a free run at the pre-Christmas box office. The big bullies…
