Based on the science fiction novel "Mickey 7" by Edward Ashton, "Mickey 17" revolves around Mickey (Robert Pattinson) - a man who is cloned multiple times on a space colonization mission.
"Mickey 17" is scheduled to be released on March 7, 2025 in the US and will likely be released in Korea two days earlier - on March 5, 2025.
According to Hankook Ilbo, the release date was set after several changes and quickly attracted attention because it was confirmed just 2 months before the premiere - a surprising move for the Oscar-winning director of the film "Parasite" (2019).
The film was originally scheduled to be released on March 29, 2024. However, a month earlier, distributor Warner Bros. announced that the release date would be moved to January 31, 2024.
Variety (USA) commented that the decision to postpone the date was to take advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday in Southeast Asian countries, however, the end of January is considered the low season for Hollywood.
In November 2023, Warner Bros. announced that it would continue to delay the release date of "Mickey 17" to April 18, 2024, in the hope that the film would have the opportunity to reach a wider audience.
Variety predicts the new release date could help "Mickey 17" benefit from the Easter holiday season in the US, which begins on April 20, 2024.
But on December 28, 2024, the distributor continued to announce the release date changed to March 7, 2025 for the same reason - targeting the US spring break box office revenue, which lasted 4 consecutive weeks.
"This decision also reflects confidence stemming from strong test scores conducted with general audiences," Warner Bros. added.
However, the decision to move "Mickey 17" from April to March has raised many questions, because unlike Easter, the US box office does not consider spring break to be a peak season.
"Spring break is not a prime season for movie theaters in the US because many college students travel during this time. It would be more reasonable to target Easter," said Kim Hyo Jung, a film critic and professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.
However, Warner Bros. Korea defended the decision, noting that blockbusters such as "Dune: Part 2" (2024) and "The Batman" (2022) both debuted in early March and achieved great success.
According to Hankook Ilbo, many people speculate that the release date of "Mickey 17" may have been moved up to coincide with the invitation to attend the Berlin International Film Festival (taking place from February 13 - 23, 2025), so it is possible that the film will be listed in the competition category of the Film Festival.
On the other hand, the frequent change of release date also raised many predictions that the film might not be suitable for the majority of American audiences.
In fact, with an estimated production budget of $150 million, the film qualifies as a "blockbuster" but is rated R (Restricted - not for people under 17 without a parent or guardian) which is considered quite unusual.
However, Korean newspapers commented that the above disadvantages can be reversed if the film's content is good, especially when the role of director, screenwriter and producer of the project is taken on by Bong Joon Ho - the "father" of the film "Parasite".
