Movie notes: ‘This Means War’ wants it both ways

Posted on 02/08/2012 by rjohnson

Tom Hardy (left) and Chris Pine battle for the affections of Reese Witherspoon in "This Means War," which opens Valentine's Day -- sort of. (20th Century Fox)

If you’ve seen an ad for “This Means War” that says, “Opens Valentine’s Day,” well that was true until yesterday.

And it’s still true, sort of.

In a classic case of trying to have its Valentine’s candy and eating it, too, 20th Century Fox has once again changed its opening date for the romantic action comedy starring Chris Pine and Tom Hardy as CIA agents fighting over Reese Witherspoon (and who can blame them, really?).

As it stands now, “This Means War” will have sneak previews in most multiplexes on Tuesday night (one show per screen, probably around 7 p.m.) for the Valentine’s Day dinner-and-a-movie crowd, then take the next two days off before having a regular opening Feb. 17. This was its original opening date, but that was moved up in hopes of being this year’s go-to Valentine’s romantic comedy.

Apparently, according to the Los Angeles Times, Fox got cold feet on the full rollout Tuesday, thanks in part to the presence of “The Vow.” The not-quite-a-Nicholas-Sparks-hankie-fest opens Friday; the Times reported that Fox was afraid it might steal much of the female audience away from “This Means War.” Plus, the way box-office totals are reported makes the sneaks strategy better from a PR standpoint.

Read further: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/weekender/2012/02/movie-notes-this-means-war-wants-it-both-ways/