If you’re excited to see Peter Berg and Michael Mann’s The Kingdom, please take a moment to find another April release to see instead. After testing through the roof in multiple screenings, Berg’s action picture about an FBI trio (Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper) investigating a bombing in the Middle East has been pushed back to Columbus Day weekend in September.
Unlike most delays, this is actually good news; Universal seems to recognize that they’ve got something good on their hands, and the beancounters indicate that late April performance is typically short of what a movie can earn in the fall.
After The Kingdom, Berg’s next will be Tonight, He Comes, with Will Smith as a superhero who falls for the wife of his PR manager. Riding his resurgence, Jason Bateman is featured in both pictures — together with Smokin’ Aces, he and Berg have a good thing going.
Meanwhile, I’ll hold out hope that Berg’s remake of Johnny To’s The Mission comes to fruition, because for some reason I see Bateman killing in the Simon Yam role.