It’s not unusual for film projects to get stuck in development hell and have difficulty getting into production. Once in production, it’s not uncommon for additional problems to occur, as cast or crew may be forced to drop out for various reasons. Amityville: The Awakening is not having either of these issues. The movie has been made. It’s done. But, for some reason, it’s just not being released.
Back in 2013 it was announced that there would be a new film in the long running Amityville horror franchise in January of 2015. Amityville: The Awakening was then pushed back to April of this year. Now, less than a month before it was set to come out, Dread Central is reporting that the horror movie has been pulled from the calendar by the Weinstein’s. While the original story simply states that the movie has been pulled, it now appears that the movie has been pushed back to January of 2017.
According to The Wrap, The Weinstein Company thinks they may have a hit in the upcoming musical coming of age story Sing Street and so they’ve decided to focus all their efforts there. Sing Street is set for release on April 15, just two weeks after Amityville: The Awakening was scheduled. More than likely the feeling was that Sing Street would have enough competition at the box office as it was, and they didn’t need to add to it with one of their own films. This was obviously a recent a decision, as a trailer was just released The Awakening.
Moving Amityville: The Awakening may make sense, though moving it to January is a curious decision. That period is already scheduled to see the return of the Friday the 13th franchise, the final movie in the Resident Evil series, and a new supernatural thriller from M. Night Shyamalan. On top of all that, there’s the simple fact that January is not a big month for film releases in general. Whatever chance Amityville had to find an audience will likely be all the more difficult in January of 2017.
Amityville: The Awakening follows Academy Award nominee Jennifer Jason Leigh as a single mother who moves her three children into a new home. Her daughter, played by Bella Thorne, gets the feeling that mom isn’t telling her everything. Eventually she stumbles on the haunted history of her new house.
Is Amityville: The Awakening a movie you’ve been waiting for? If so, what do you think the odds are that you’ll ever actually see it.
