Amazon Studios is moving the release of its balloon disaster-adventure movie The Aeronauts from October 25 to December 6, to increase its chances during awards season.
According to Deadline, Amazon is also cutting the time the movie will spend in theaters before going to Prime Video. They had originally planned a traditional theatrical release plus a 1-week IMAX window, but plans now are for a very short time in theaters before going to Prime on December 20. No word on what will happen now with the IMAX release.
Jennifer Salke, head of the studio, explained that “The Aeronauts is a spectacular film featuring some of Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne’s finest work. The level of filmmaking is nothing short of a technical feat that transports you to another world high up in the clouds. The theatrical experience is an important part of our business, but our highest priority is our customers.” She went on to stress that given the current competitive market for viewers, they wanted customers to have access to the movie as soon as possible.
One of the benefits to delaying the release is that the movie will be fresher in voters’ minds when it comes time to cast ballots for the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and other prizes. It’s rumored that The Aeronauts will debut at a fall festival such as Telluride, where voters tend to be concentrated.
The movie is based on an episode from real-life meteorologist, astronomer, and aeronaut James Glaisher’s life (played by Eddie Redmayne). In 1862, his ascent in a hot-air balloon broke the world record for altitude, but he lost consciousness at about 5 and a half miles up, before he could take a reading. He might have gone as high as 5.7 miles above sea level. In the film, his copilot is a wealthy young widow (Felicity Jones); in real life, he was accompanied only by pigeons, one of whom died during the trip.
Tom Harper (Peaky Blinders, Wild Rose) directs a script cowritten with Jack Thorne (The Secret Garden). The cast also includes Himesh Patel (Yesterday), Anne Reid (Years and Years), Tom Courtenay (45 Years), Tim McInnerny (Notting Hill), and Phoebe Fox (Eye in the Sky).
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