Sony Pictures Entertainment has slated Goosebumps for release on August 7, 2015, and their Untitled Smurfs Movie for release on August 5, 2016. The films were initially set for release on March 23, 2015 and August 14, 2015, respectively.
The new dates have Goosebumps opening opposite Assassin’s Creed while the Untitled Smurfs Movie is the first film to claim that date. It will also open slightly earlier internationally, targeting a July 2016 release.
Jack Black stars in Goosebumps, directed by Rob Letterman from a screenplay by Darren Lemke and Mike White and a story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski and Darren Lemke, based on the Goosebumps book series published by Scholastic and written by R.L. Stine. The producers are Neal H. Moritz and Deborah Forte.
In Goosebumps, upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door. But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zachs comes when he learns that Hannah has a mysterious dad who is revealed to be R. L. Stine (Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series. It turns out that there is a reason why Stine is so strange he is a prisoner of his own imagination the monsters that his books made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books. When Zach unintentionally unleashes the monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, its suddenly up to Stine, Zach, and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.
Untitled Smurfs Movie, meanwhile, is directed by Kelly Asbury and produced by Jordan Kerner, with Mary Ellen Bauder co-producing. The original two live action/CG hybrid Smurfs movies from Sony Pictures Animation grossed a combined $910 million worldwide.
“Remember, this is not a sequel nor a prequel,” Asbury commented on the film’s recently launched production blog. “Its a whole NEW Smurf adventure! As a director, Im very grateful to be given the proper time to make the movie I want to make and not have to compromise the quality on any front. Most all animated features, especially those from major studios, require at least 3 – 4 years to make (some far longer), and while this Smurfs movie will still be on a faster track than most, Im really happy Sony has made this important decision. Quality is a huge priority and it is no small task to achieve, especially on an animated feature.”
He also posted the below teaser image:
