Release Dates: ‘London Has Fallen’ Moves To Spring, ‘Legend’ To November
Two upcoming pics are doing the release date shuffle. Focus Features has movedLondon Has Fallenfrom January 2016 to spring, whileTom Hardy’sLegendhas been pushed back several weeks to late November. Get the newLondon Has FallenandLegendrelease date details after the jump.
Deadlinebroke news ofLondon Has Fallen’s new date. Focus Features, which originally had the film slated for October 2, 2015and thenJanuary 22, 2016, has moved it again to the more promising date ofMarch 4, 2016. That puts it closer to the same weekend that the first film,Olympus Has Fallen, opened in 2013.Babak Najafidirects the action sequel, which sends Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) and President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) to London for the funeral of the British prime minister. When the event is targeted by terrorists, Banning teams with an MI-6 agent (Charlotte Riley) to foil the plot.Morgan Freemanalso returns fromOlympus Has Fallen.
The shift givesLondon Has Fallenmore time to complete its VFX, and also reflects its strong performance in research screenings. In its new March 4 slot,London Has Fallenwill compete with Sacha Baron Cohen’sGrimsby, Disney’sZootopia, Tim Burton’sMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and John Hillcoat’sTriple Nine.
Meanwhile, Universal has decided to delayLegendby seven weeks, from October 2 toNovember 20. The crime drama will open in New York and Los Angeles before rolling out to additional U.S. markets onNovember 25andDecember 11. On November 20, it’ll be up against Todd Haynes’Carolin limited release andThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2andThe Secret in their Eyesin wide release.
Legendstars Hardy in a dual role as identical twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious gangsters in British history. They came to rule London’s underworld in the 1960s.Emily Browningplays Reggie’s wife, andTaron Egerton,Paul Bettany,Christopher Eccleston, andDavid Thewlisalso star.Brian Helgelanddirected.Legendgot mixed reviews at its Toronto International Film Festival debut (not that that you’d know it fromthis hilariously deceptive poster), which partially accounts for the change. TheWrap notes it may have also wanted to get some more distance from Johnny Depp’sBlack Mass, another fact-based gangster biopic opening this weekend.
