Following the rantings and ravings of one Mr. Mel Gibson last year, it's been a fairly rough road for The Beaver. Based on a Black List script by Kyle Killen and directed by Jodie Foster, there was a period of time where it looked like the film would be shelved permanently. Then, as though the movie gods were smiling down upon it, it was announced that it would be getting a release on March 23 and premiere at SXSW. Apparently the same movie gods now believe that they have made a mistake, because the release date has been changed, and the new date will likely prevent a lot of people from seeing it.
THR reports that The Beaver has officially been moved from March 23 to May 6. Why is this a terrible weekend for the movie to be released? Because that happens to be the same day that Thor, the Marvel superhero film expected to launch the blockbuster season, hits theaters. It would seem that the idea is to have the movie build momentum after its premiere. Foster's film also co-stars Anton Yelchin and Academy Award-nominee Jennifer Lawrence.
As it is, The Beaver is only getting a limited release, but putting it up against Thor just seems like a mistake. Why not April 22, when its biggest competition will be Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family? Lord knows there isn't going to be very much of an audience cross over there.
