It seems that the Force may not be with George Lucas of late. First it was reported that Disney opted not to use his outlines for the upcoming Star Wars sequels, and now we have confirmed that his latest offering, the animated “Strange Magic” will not be screening for the press in several markets.
In two of our major markets we were told that there would be no advanced screenings for the press and other markets we cover have been silent as well.
This is a very disturbing development as an animated offering distributed through Disney’s Touchtone label and done with George Lucas should be an interesting enough offering.
Not screening a film widely for the press prior to the opening is usually a sign that the studio believes that the film will be given a large amount of negative reviews and in an effort to try to salvage a decent opening, studios will opt to hide the film from many members of the press in an effort to limit potential damage.
Usually horror, teen comedies and some low budget films tend to take the not screened route and others, such as “I Frankenstein”, had screeners in select markets around publicity events.
Regardless of the reasons for not wanting to show the film in advance, “Strange Magic” opens on January 23rd.
