Back in July, Sony pushed Screen Gems and Constantin Film’s Milla Jovovich-starrer Monster Hunter from its domestic Labor Day weekend date of September 4 to April 23, 2021. But, hang on, a teaser released by Sony Pictures over the weekend now tells us it’s coming “only in theaters” in December (watch the video below).
We understand that the full release schedule is not yet firmed up, however, some markets are now set to go this year. We are waiting on confirmation of the North American date.
Monster Hunter stars the Resident Evil franchise’s Jovovich and is directed by that series’ Paul W.S. Anderson. The last Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, did big offshore business back in 2016 with $285.4M at the international box office and led by China’s $159.5M. The overseas take was more than 91% of the cume, so there’s a sense to going in some markets internationally on this movie despite ongoing domestic closures.
We hear that the date change was already in the works before James Bond movie No Time To Die last week moved to April next year with the filmmakers seeing an opportunity in December 2020 given scant competition (which is nevertheless significantly expected to include Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984.
Jovovich and her husband Anderson reteam here on Monster Hunter which is based on the Capcom game. The logline is: When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers.
Here’s the teaser for Monster Hunter that was released on Sunday: