‘Great’ Way to Avoid the Rush

Twentieth Century Fox’s last-minute decision to delay the release of “Great Expectations” has cost the modern Dickens adaptation a prime holiday slot, as well as 1997 awards consideration, but may boost its box-office hopes.

The romantic drama, directed by Alfonso Cuaron (“A Little Princess”) and starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert De Niro, had been scheduled for a two-city, two-theater run starting Dec. 31. Now it will open Jan. 30 in wide release, the first available date when the love story won’t be competing with other films vying for the same audience.

“For the studio it was a business decision,” said “Great Expectations” producer Art Linson. “For me it’s simply being smart. I know in my heart that a lot more people will see the movie now.”

While it’s not unprecedented for movies to be pulled from the busy holiday schedule (46 films this year), it usually doesn’t happen so close to the time of release. Industry insiders blame it on middling test screenings for the movie. Tom Sherak, Fox’s president of worldwide marketing and distribution, called the screenings “commercial.”

Of course, that could be another way of saying that “Great Expectations” may not be in line for the kind of overwhelming critical acclaim a movie needs in a limited run to segue well into wide release.

Messing with a classic period novel like “Great Expectations,” which has previously been adapted to the screen, most notably by director David Lean, seems to be a sure-fire way to present the critics with a sharpener for their knife blades. Fox has already been down this path with last year’s modernization of “Romeo & Juliet,” which divided reviewers, but was a solid hit based on its timeless romance.

And the romantic elements of “Great Expectations” are exactly what the studio is counting on to lure audiences in late January. Both the film’s young principals, Hawke and Paltrow, are very much in demand as romantic leads in Hollywood. But they are perhaps not as big as Leonardo DiCaprio, who is the object of Kate Winslet’s desire in “Titanic,” an epic being sold as a love story. That film opens Dec. 19.

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A year ago Fox rushed the romantic comedy “One Fine Day,” planned for February, into theaters over the holidays--only to hit an unanticipated category killer.

“We found out too late that ‘Jerry Maguire’ was going to be a strong woman’s movie,” Sherak recalled. “This year [in addition to “Titanic”] there’s Jim Brooks’ ‘As Good as It Gets’ and ‘Good Will Hunting.’ ”

“Scream 2,” which opens Friday, is also expected to draw from the same moviegoing pool. Some insiders expect it to take in $20 million or more this weekend. “How can you compete with that?” Sherak said. “When you have a film that’s not arty, you look for a spot where you can attract young females and males.”

If “Great Expectations” were to arrive in two theaters on New Year’s Eve, it would require enormous star power and major promotion to sustain it until Jan. 30.

“You can’t hold in two theaters for six weeks waiting for the other releases to fall off. It could fall by the wayside,” said producer Linson. If the limited release failed, the movie would be quickly swallowed up by the wide release of films like “Good Will Hunting” and “The Boxer” (starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson). And it would likely vanish as the 1998 releases came marching in.

“Sometimes you have to wait, and get it to a place where it has a chance to be commercial,” Sherak said.