‘Rings’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ Sequels Both Delayed
It’s not a great time to be a horror sequel. Blair Witch made just $9.5 in its debut in theaters last weekend (less than Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 made in its opening weekend 15 years ago), and now Variety reports that Paramount is pushing back two long-delayed installments in the horror franchises for The Ring and Friday the 13th.
For Rings, the third American film in the horror series about a deadly videotape (Ah! Outdated analog technology! Run for your lives!), this is the third delay in the movie’s tortured history. Rings was originally dated way back in November of 2015. That became April 1, 2016 and then (April Fool’s!) that became October 28. In what can’t be a great sign, the film, which is directed by F. Javier Gutierrez, has now been moved from prime Halloween position to the middle of the winter. It will open on February 3, unless Paramount decides to move it for a fourth time. Here’s the movie’s trailer.
As for Friday the 13th, that was supposed to open on January 13, 2017. Now you can expect that movie (allegedly supposedly maybe doubtfully) on October 13, 2017. There was no given reason for the delays to either film, but Variety also notes that this is “the second time in a year” that Paramount has delayed both films on the same day. I watch enough horror movies to know: We’ve got a curse on our hands. Someone call the exorcist. (I think he’s on Fox now.)
Hollywood makes so many sequels all the time, but horror sequels are a little less ubiquitous than they once were. Apart from the James Waniverse of stuff like The Conjuring and Annabelle, it’s a pretty bleak time out there for fans of retreads of scary movies they previously enjoyed.