Focus Features has moved the release date of its action disaster movie London Has Fallen from January 22 to March 4, 2016, Deadline reports. Clearly a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen, the film follows U.S. secret service head Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) as he tries to stop a plot to assassinate several world leaders who are visiting London for the British prime minister’s funeral. The change in release date stems primarily from two factors: strong research screenings and more time needed to complete visual effects—which better include a London bridge falling down, or they’re not even trying.
The scores for a test screening of London Has Fallen were 33 percent higher in total positivity than for Olympus. They were also higher among older females, which is surprising since the first film coasted just as much on overt masculinity as it did on exploding porticos. Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution at Focus Features, said, “We’re convinced that we have the potential for a successful film with London Has Fallen, and we want to give it all the time it needs in its production and put it in the strongest possible release window.” This is a more professional way of saying, “We can’t believe that this is actually good, and we’re running with it.” See you at the Oscars, London Has Fallen.
