As long time TGD readers know, we’ve been reporting on the importance of overseas box office for movies. Without the big bucks coming in from China especially, a lot of movies can’t earn their money back, let alone make a profit.
So now comes the announcement that the reboot of RoboCop will be released in Asia before it comes out in the states. As Variety reports, RoboCop comes out in Malaysia and Sinagpore on January 30, Taiwan January 31, Indonesia and the Philippines February 5, Australia, New Zealand and Russia, February 6, before finally hitting the US.
People are speculating as to why the new RoboCop is having a later opening in the States, and Variety writes that “the RoboCop machine is fine-tuned for sensibilities in those markets where action and clashing metal work best.” The latest footage from the film “appears to set the movie as a mash up between Iron Man, Transformers and Avatar, all of which played very strongly in Asia.”
Many genre fans, including us at TGD, have felt that a remake of RoboCop is fairly blasphemous, but the trailer looked good, and we’re hoping for the best. The original’s still a terrific film with way more depth and humor than the usual sci-fi fare, and we’re of the opinion that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, but do we hope to be proven wrong? Absolutely, and we’re looking forward to the first legit reviews of the film once it’s out in the world next year.
