The fallout of Fox’s decision to move The Martian from Thanksgiving to the start of October continues. The Weinstein Company were expected to give John Wells’ chef drama a limited release this weekend, but now they’ve announced the Burnt US release date will kick off wide next weekend instead.
After Fox decided to move The Martian, TWC originally set Burnt for October 23rd, opening wide from day one. This is a really busy weekend, though, with The Last Witch Hunter, Jem and the Holograms, Rock the Kasbah, and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension all opening wide as well. Steve Jobs also expands nationwide on Friday after two weeks in limited release.
As such, TWC announced they were changing their Burnt US release date strategy. On October 7th, they revealed that they would begin with a limited release this Friday in New York and LA. They would then open the film up wide the following weekend over Halloween. Now they’ve revealed they’re skipping that limited release altogether, heading straight for the wide box office next weekend.
Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) had it all – and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he’ll need the best of the best on his side, including the beautiful Helene (Sienna Miller). BURNT is a remarkably funny and emotional story about the love of food, the love between two people, and the power of second chances.
Bradley Cooper is front and centre, in a role that could see him land yet another Oscar nod during awards season this year. Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Riccardo Scamarcio, Sam Keeley, Alicia Vikander, Matthew Rhys, Lily James, Jamie Dornan, Uma Thurman, and Emma Thompson share the screen with him.
Wells (The Company Men, August: Osage County) directs from a script by Oscar nominee Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Locke), based on a story by Michael Kalesniko (Iron Sky). Stacey Sher (Django Unchained) and Erwin Stoff (Edge of Tomorrow) produce alongside Wells.
The limited release strategy is one frequently adopted by awards contenders. Sicario and Steve Jobs have both had success with it in recent weeks, with Steve Jobs expected to do very well as it opens wide for the first time this weekend. But, for whatever reason, TWC has opted to change tactics at the last minute. Burnt will now open opposite Warner Bros.’ own awards contender, Our Brand is Crisis, starring Sandra Bullock. Paramount will also be releasing horror comedy Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. It’s hard to predict just how well Burnt will do. All this chop-and-change hasn’t been particularly helpful, and makes it seem like TWC is doing triage. But you can’t blame them for not wanting to open Steve Jobs as it opens wide alongside so many other films, and Halloween is much less crowded for it to try making its mark.
The Burnt US release date is now set for a wide release on October 30th. Its UK release date was recently pushed to November.
The post Burnt US Release Date Skips Limited Bow to Go Nationwide on Halloween, Bradley Cooper Stars appeared first on Final Reel.