Dinosaurs No Match Harry Potter

Posted by dominie in Events, Films, News on September 12th, 2008

When Warners Bros. shifted Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from its November release date to July next summer, other competing studios didn’t hesitate to realign their current outlooks, steering clear of the wizard’s wand.

Among the shifters is (THR reports) Universal Studios, who’s bumped their $100 million budget Will Ferrell action fantasy Land of the Lost (set in a land of dinosaurs and myriad other magical creatures) up from July 17 to now June 5, and bounced its Fast and Furious (the fourth installment to The Fast and the Furious franchise) release back from June 5 to June 12.

The studio is confident that Land of the Lost has found a safe haven for a summer 2009 release.  At present there is no other competition slated for a June release, and studio execs are not concerned that a back-to-back release of their two features would inhibit sales as the target audiences for the two films are sufficiently distinct.

Land of the Lost is based on one of many classic children’s TV series created by Sid and Marty Krofft (currently producing features H.R. Pufnstuff and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters), about a family trapped in a world inhabited by dinosaurs, cavemen and other bizarre insectoid/humanoid reptilian creatures.  As they focus on surviving and finding a way home, their exploration of the exotic land is the force behind the kidshow hit.  Director Brad Silberling (Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events) directed the feature film, which just wrapped production this summer.  Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies), Danny R. McBride (Tropic Thunder), and Jorma Taccone (TV’s Saturday Night Live) also star.