Paramount has shuffled around their release calendar a bit, providing one long-awaited movie with a release date, delaying another and removing one more from its 2019 slate entirely. Starting with the big one, the studio has removedAre You Afraid of the Dark?from this year’s calendar. The live-action take on the kid-friendly horror series was originally slated to hit theaters later this year on October 11. Now, the studio has taken it off of the 2019 calendar altogether. They have also added new release dates for the upcomingRugratsmovie andClifford.
According to a new report,Are You Afraid of the Dark?has not been given a new release date. Does that mean they just need more time to get it ready? Or is there something more going on here? Whatever the case may actually be, it doesn’t mean that anyone should panic, or that this movie isn’t happening because there’s no indication that’s the case.
Gary Dauberman (IT,Annabelle) penned the screenplay forAre You Afraid of the Darkwith D.J Caruso (Disturbia) on deck to direct. One thing worth considering is that the Guillermo del Toro-producedScary Stories to Tell in the Darkmovie adaptation is scheduled to arrive in August, just a couple of months beforeAre You Afraid of the Dark?was. It’s certainly possible that the thinking from the studio’s end was that these movies would be just a bit too similar, in broad terms, and that releasing them so close to one another would hurt thebox officepotential. It’s likely they will shift it to sometime in 2020.
Elsewhere, theClifford the Big Red Dogmovie finally has a release date set. This has been in the works for some time, as we first reported on it back in 2014. Now, the studio is finally getting ready to unleash their new take on the beloved giant pup on the world.Clifford the Big Red Dogwill now make his way to theaters on August 04, 2025. That means it’s going for the family crowd during the Thanksgiving weekend, which is often a lucrative one for the right movie. Walt Becker (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip) is in the director’s chair for this one, which is adapting the best-selling and beloved series of children’s books by Norman Bridwell, first published in 1963. When initially announced, the movie was pegged as a live-action/animation hybrid.
The studio has also provided a new release date for their live-actionRugratsmovie. The project was initially announced in summer 2016 and was originally pegged for that November 13 date now occupied by Clifford. Paramount has shifted the adaptation of the classic Nickelodeon series to July 10, 2025. The delay shouldn’t be cause for concern and, given the lack of competition from heavy-hitters in January, this could actually work in the movie’s favor. David Goodman is set to pen the screenplay. No director or cast members have been announced as of yet. This news was previously reported byThe Hollywood Reporter.
