'The Great Gatsby' Release Date Moved To Summer 2013

"The Great Gatsby" is no longer a 2012 Oscar contender. In a shocking bit of news, Warner Bros. announced on Monday that Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated 3D adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" will not get released on Dec. 25. Instead, the film has been moved to an unspecified date in summer of 2013.

“Based on what we’ve seen, Baz Luhrmann’s incredible work is all we anticipated and so much more," Dan Feldman, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution said in a statement. "We think moviegoers of all ages are going to embrace it, and it makes sense to ensure this unique film reaches the largest audience possible.”

Echoed Kwan Vanderberg, Warner Bros. president of international distribution, "We think ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be the perfect summer movie around the world."

Late-stage release date changes -- particularly when there is already a marketing campaign in full swing -- almost always raise eyebrows unless there are some extenuating circumstances to consider as well. (Warner Bros. just went through a release date shuffle with "Gangster Squad" following the movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colo.) On Twitter, prominent Oscar blogger Sasha Stone wondered whether "The Great Gatsby" was subpar.

However, as Stone later noted, the move could have been made because of financial considerations. This December is loaded with high profile releases, from "Les Miserables" and "The Life of Pi" to "The Hobbit" (a fellow Warner Bros. release) and "Zero Dark Thirty," Kathryn Bigelow's Osama Bin Laden drama. Even "Gatsby" star Leonardo DiCaprio has a film opening, Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," which is set for release on Christmas Day.

Putting "The Great Gatsby" into the summer movie season could curtail any 2013 Oscar nominations, but it will no doubt help the box-office gross. The last DiCaprio film to open during summertime was "Inception," Christopher Nolan's mind-bending and adult-themed drama, which grossed over $825 million worldwide.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the decision to move "The Great Gatsby" was done so Luhrmann could complete the 3D effects in a proper manner. The Times also reports that the film will have an all-star soundtrack, similar to Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!"

Starring DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton, "The Great Gatsby" will arrive next year.

[via THR.com]