With so many major franchises planning out years in advance, we already know the release dates of dozens of movies for years to come. It also means that avoiding competition with a major franchise is becoming impossible. If you can't avoid them, then beat them. That's apparently the strategy of Ocean's Eight, the Ocean's Eleven follow-up that will star an all-female cast. They just announced their release date, which will also be the release date of a major Transformers movie.
Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros. has given Oceans Eight a release date for June of 2018. However, a quick look at the release calendar shows that that date was taken up first by the sixth film in the Transformers franchise. Specifically, the heist movie will be taking on Bumblebee, as the movie following next year's Transformers: The Last Knight is currently planned to be a spinoff story starring him.
With as many major films get released over the course of the year, and especially during the summer months, it's essentially impossible for a single film to carve out a release date entirely for itself. Having said that, you'd think that a juggernaut like Transformers might be one of those franchises. Regardless of what critics think, those movies break the billion dollar mark worldwide. Theaters are packed with viewers on opening weekend.
It would seem that the plan is for Ocean's Eight to be a bit of counterprogramming. With its all-female cast, and the fact that it's not a special effects blockbuster, the hope will be that a large enough audience who is tired of watching giant robots punch each other will flock to the theater to see something else. One can already confidently predict that Ocean's Eight won't win the box office that weekend, but it doesn't need to. It's going to have a total budget on par with what Transformers 6 spends on catering. It can come in second that weekend and still come out significantly more profitable than the Bumblebee movie.
Certainly, Oceans Eight has a cast that should attract many movie fans, Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Rhianna, Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, and Awkwafina will make up the eight roles in question. Director Gary Ross has promised a movie with the same tone as the George Clooney-led reboot series, and those films all broke the $300 million mark. Although, it should be noted that the first two were released in December, not the summer. Ocean's Thirteen, however, was released on the exact same day of June in 2007 that Ocean's Eight will be released on eleven years later.
While you've still got plenty of time to decide, will you probably be checking out The Bumblebee Transformers movie or Ocean's Eight on June 8, 2018? Let us know which movie appeals to you more in the comments.
