Fears For Point Break Remake As US Press Screenings Are Cancelled

Could the forthcoming remake of ‘Point Break’ be in a spot of bother?

According to reports, US press screenings for the movie have been cancelled by its studio Warner Bros due to 'unforeseen circumstances’.

Jordan Maison, a writer on movie site Cinelinx, tweeted to confirm the move, but could this mean that hopes aren’t too high for the action thriller?

It is indeed rather close to the movie’s release date – December 25 in the US – to be cancelling screenings, thus missing review opportunities in weekly and monthly magazines.

Plus when studios pull press screenings, it’s never a particularly good sign.

Recent movies to have side-stepped being shown to the press prior to release have included bombs like ‘RIPD’, the slated ‘Movie 43′ and ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ (though the latter did well at the box office).

Taking its plot and inspiration from Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action classic, news of the movie being remade by 'The Fast and the Furious’ cinematographer Erison Core was met with howls of derision by fans of the original back in 2011.

It was confirmed that 'Zero Dark Thirty’ (coincidentally directed by Bigelow) star Édgar Ramírez would be taking Patrick Swayze’s role as Bodhi, and Australian former 'Home and Away’ alumnus Luke Bracey would be playing Johnny Utah, the FBI originally played by Keanu Reeves.

Updating the formula, it sees Utah going undercover in a group of extreme sports enthusiasts suspected to be involved in organised crime.

Making up the cast are Ray Winstone and Teresa Palmer.

There has been some movement on the movie ever since, with the original release date planned for August 7 this year. It was then brought forward to July 31, but then in February it was announced that it would be delayed until December.

In an unorthodox move, the film was then released at the beginning of this month in China only, where it debuted just behind Ridley Scott’s 'The Martian’.

And so far, it’s actually done pretty well, making $34.5 million (£23 million) in China and five other Asian markets.

However, there’s still a very long way to go.

The movie, which had its premiere in Hollywood earlier this week, wasn’t cheap to make – at $120 million (£80 million) – though it’s said to be impressive in its stunt work.

Maggie Lee, Variety’s chief Asia film critic, called it 'a visual dazzler and a dramatic non-starter’, while Elizabeth Kerr in The Hollywood Reporter said the fun of the original had been 'stripped’, making it 'a humorless, if photogenic, spin on extreme crime’, and 'a thrill ride in need of a few more thrills’.

The first movie, which also starred Gary Busey and Lori Petty, was a hit, making $83.5 million (nearing $150 million - £100 million today) from its theatrical release from its $24 million (£16 million) budget, and then much more from video rental and TV rights.

It’s due out in the UK on February 12.

Read more
Nelson’s column turned into light saber
Tarantino’s anger over Star Wars release
Worst movie poster photoshop fails of 2015

Image credits: Warner Bros