CNET reports that “The LEGO Batman Movie” has been delayed in Australian cinemas by its distributor Roadshow Films until March 30th. That’s seven weeks after the film’s release around much of the rest of the world such as in the United States and United Kingdom. What makes this interesting is back in 2014 “The LEGO Movie” underwent a similar delay in Australia – pushed back from an early February 2014 release, which was day-and-date with the U.S., to an April 2014 bow to try and take advantage of the school holidays. It backfired and Roadshow’s chief Graham Burke, who has become one of the most vocal critics of film piracy in recent years, reportedly said it cost the company up to $5 million in lost ticket revenue: “We made one hell of a mistake with Lego… We held it for a holiday period, it was a disaster. It caused it to be pirated very widely. And as a consequence: No more. Our policy going forward is that all of our movies will release day and date with the United States.”
Roadshow has stuck to its promise for the most part with delays usually fairly minimal between U.S. and Australian releases, making a delay like this stand out all the more. They also recently picked up “Moonlight,” the Barry Jenkins-directed drama and potential awards nominee which no Australian distributor seemed to want to touch until they scored it the other week. “Moonlight” will get a January 26th release in Australia with sneak previews the weekend before. Australia was also host to much of the production on both “LEGO” films thanks to local animation house Animal Logic.With Fox and Warner Bros. competing against one another when their animated features hit theaters, it seems a schedule shift has just eased some of the tension between the two studios. Fox has announced it has moved up their release date for How to Train Your Dragon 3 to May 18, 2018 from June 29, 2018. The film’s new date now occupies the original release date for The LEGO Movie 2 by Warner Bros. as that sequel has just been pushed back by the studio.
Instead of hitting theaters on May 18, 2018, The LEGO Movie 2 will debut nearly a year later on February 8, 2019. How to Train Your Dragon 3 is no stranger to line-up changes as the project has been pushed back several times since its announcement. As the threequel will almost certainly wrap up its franchise, How to Train Your Dragon 3 was at one point scheduled to face-off against Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory this past week before Fox nixed those overly ambitious plans. The film was pushed back from 2016 to 2017, but then the project was again delayed until 2018 after DreamWorks Animation announced it was altering its business strategy to produces 2 new films a year rather than 3 following some box-office slumps. However, How to Train Your Dragon 3’s newest release date breaks the trend and moves the film up to release just a month before Disney/Pixar makes a comeback with Toy Story 4. On the other hand, The LEGO Movie 2 has suffered fewer setbacks since the sequel was announced following the success of its predecessor, The LEGO Movie, in 2014.
While no explanation has been given for the film’s delay, one possible explanation is simply that animation is hardwork. With animated features famously taking 4 to 7 years to create, The LEGO Movie 2 might be taking its time to ensure it's just as hilarious and eccentric as the first film. Another reason for the delay might be because a 2018 release would make Warner Bros. compete against itself as The LEGO Batman Movie and The Ninjago LEGO Movie are both slated to release in 2017. By dragging out The LEGO Movie 2 release date, fans would be eager to see the film following the franchise's prolonged absence. For now, fans of the two films will just have to wait to see the franchises' next installments. With the market for animated features booming, competition will be surely be stiff for Fox and Warner Bros. regardless of when their upcoming film do hit theaters.Netflix Australia officially launches today, and the biggest question everyone is asking is this: just how much decent content does it actually have?
When it comes to movies that are popular with Australians, the answer is: disappointingly few. Popcorn picture from Shutterstock Netflix doesn't release an exact number of titles it has available in any country. To get a sense of just how broad its coverage is down under, we decided to see how many of the movies that had reached #1 in Australian cinemas between 2010 and 2014 are available on the service. While part of the appeal of any streaming service is the ability to discover hidden gems, it's also important to have popular content — and topping the box office charts is a clear indicator of popularity. We don't expect that Netflix (or anyone) would have full coverage — movie studios will typically partner with whoever offers the most money or other sweeteners, and rivals Presto, Stan and Quickflix have all signed up various big franchises. But even so, we were surprised by just how few of the biggest movies in Australia in recent years were actually available through Netflix.
This chart sums up the situation: Of the 158 movies that topped Australian box office takings between 2010 and 2014, just 26 are available on Netflix Australia. While older flicks have a better chance of appearing, even in 2010 less than a third of the chart-topping movies have made their way to Netflix. That doesn't mean you won't have a lot to watch — but if you think of a popular movie, the chances are it isn't on Netflix right now. Over at Gizmodo, Luke has done a similar comparison for geeky TV shows, with even more depressing results: 20 shows that were on Netflix US weren't on the local version. •How To Access Netflix US Using Your Netflix Australia Account Here are the full listings for each of those years: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug The Wolf of Wall Street 300: Rise of an Empire The Amazing Spider-Man 2 X-Men: Days of Future Past The Fault in Our Stars Transformers: Age of Extinction Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Available on Netflix AU The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters I Give It a Year Oz the Great and Powerful A Good Day to Die Hard Star Trek Into Darkness The Hangover Part III Fast & Furious 6 Now You See Me Thor: The Dark World Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Men in Black 3 Snow White and the Huntsman Ice Age 4: Continental Drift The Dark Knight Rises Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Meet the Parents: Little Fockers I Am Number Four Just Go with It Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides The Hangover Part II