Hollywood Sci-Fi Shuffle

Robot of Iron Man Wanna-Be?

Sony has pushed the debut of Jose Padilha’s Robocop reboot back to February 7, 2014 and given the Robocop remake’s prime summer release date of August 9, 2013 to Neill Blomkamp’s science fiction film Elysium.  In 2009 Sony released Blomkamp’s first film District 9 in August and the low-budget sci-fi film turned into a worldwide $210 million hit.  Elysium, which stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, takes place in a future Earth where the rich inhabit a luxurious space station while the masses struggle on an ecologically-devastated and overcrowded Earth.  Look for Sony to repeat the marketing pattern that it used to great effect on District 9, which was also a science fiction thriller with strong political overtones. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the delay in the release of Robocop will allow more time for post-production: "though that wasn’t the reason for the move."  The Reporter doesn’t explain what the reason was, but part of it undoubtedly comes from Sony’s assessment that Elysium offers a better chance to create a hit.