The Cabin In The Woods being sold, US theatrical distribution coming soon - The Cabin in the Woods

I wonder if the impending release of THOR helped. They now can advertise the film as starring Chris Hemsworth. That has to be a big selling point, since after all stars sell tickets more than directors and producers and writers. Wish that wasn't the case, but it pretty much is. Really anxious to see this. I absolutely hate, hate, hate horror films, but I'll make an exception for this one.

Speaking of Hemsworth, this will mean that after appearing just about nowhere, he'll have two films six months apart, or if you count THE AVENGERS, three films in a year.

Njal | April 29, 00:43 CET

Great news. I was just complaining earlier today how Sony (originally assumed to be taking it, for they being the studio taking over Bond movies) and MGM how they were basically wasting free promotion with all this Thor promotion (more world cities opening this weekend, and I believe US is getting it next week, correct?), and also with some of the Avengers news we got earlier this week.
I think Cabin will suit well for the Lionsgate team. Nice!

Numfar PTB | April 29, 00:45 CET

He was (albeit briefly) in that little Star Trek film a couple years ago, Njal. :)

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 00:45 CET

Btdubs - Hemsworth. THOR. F' me. He's good. Really, really good.

gossi | April 29, 00:46 CET

Yes!!!! I'm totally doing the dance of joy right now!!

maxsummers | April 29, 00:47 CET

Yay! This shall be the greatest October in the history of Octobers.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 29, 00:51 CET

Yes, yes, YES!! I've very excited. Can't wait to finally see it!

mouse | April 29, 01:07 CET

Wheeee! :) Here's hoping it reaches these shores as well :).

GVH | April 29, 01:09 CET

YESSSSS!! Yay yay yay and yay!

Zelikman | April 29, 01:09 CET

WHOOOOO!

grrarg | April 29, 01:15 CET

Awesome!

LaneMeyer | April 29, 01:17 CET

I'm sure they can sell it with the star of Thor and by the writer/director of the upcoming Avengers.

I'm glad this is finally getting released.

Buffyfantic | April 29, 01:19 CET

Also the writer of genre-horror 'Cloverfield', which made $170m at the box office. As I said when me and b!X started that Enter The Cabin site -- this one is a slam dunk. It's the easiest to market thing Joss has ever done.

gossi | April 29, 01:22 CET

I can see the marquee now.

From the writer of Cloverfield,The Director of The Avengers and the star of Thor.

Buffyfantic | April 29, 01:29 CET

.....guys....Lionsgate....they treat horror movies.....bad. really, really, bad. unless Saw is in the title. For reference, see: Repo the Genetic Opera, Buried, The Burrowers, Midnight Meat Train, and probably a bunch of films I'm forgetting. Honestly, if this is actually advertised and put onto more than 500 screens I'll be shocked.

DetectiveYelsew | April 29, 01:35 CET

I hope Lionsgate markets the shit out of this. It's so marketable. Let's do it!

Wheeeeee!

electricspacegirl | April 29, 01:37 CET

Saw isn't coming out this year. They normally release Saw each October. At the minute they have 'Dibbuk Box' pencilled in, but they could bump it for CABIN. Considering MGM's financial position they probably got a very good deal on the film, so distribution will be cheap for them - so they could reinvest it into the release.

gossi | April 29, 01:39 CET

Yay! CiTW has moved to the front-right burner.

OctoberFright!

QuoterGal | April 29, 01:41 CET

I come with more information, and it's good - Lionsgate say they're bumping "Dibbuk Box" to January. So they have their Halloween 2011 slot without a movie suddenly.

[ edited by gossi on 2011-04-29 01:54 ]

gossi | April 29, 01:53 CET

Fantastic news! I knew Cabin had to be sold sometime - it's finished, it's marketable, it's got recognizable talent behind it. I'm glad I'll finally get to see it on the big screen!

AnotherFireflyfan | April 29, 01:55 CET

HAZAAAR!!!!!!!!!!
Minnie wave in celebration.

Nathan | April 29, 02:02 CET

Thank Grapnar's Hammer (or something). Very glad tidings indeed.

Shapenew | April 29, 02:04 CET

October 28, 2011.

gossi | April 29, 02:04 CET

"Dibbuk Box" was originally slated for October 28, 2011 but Lionsgate moved it back to January 6, 2012. Three guesses which film will end up taking "Dibbuk"'s old spot.

@Detective Yelsew: MGM most likely sold "Cabin" to Lionsgate with a provision that they give it a nationwide release (at least 1,500 theaters).

Mcjw_serenity | April 29, 02:17 CET

Want a piece of humour? It was reported way back that the reason MGM bumped the October 2009 release of Cabin was that they didn't want to go up against Lionsgate's Saw. What a difference two years makes.

gossi | April 29, 02:19 CET

Any idea how much was paid for the film? Mainly curious if they paid a fire-sale price or paid a good amount for a film that's bound to make money?

AnotherFireflyfan | April 29, 02:28 CET

Outstanding! Lionsgate, you had better not jilt me.

Tonya J | April 29, 02:54 CET

@DetectiveYelsew - All of those films you've listed were low budget, high concept, high risk projects that most likely would not have even seen the light of day were it not for Lionsgate. Not to mention, they weren't headlined by big, A-list stars at the time.

Darren Lynn Bousman was able to make his passion project, Repo the Genetic Opera as a thank you from Lionsgate. It's a Horror-Musical. It was always meant to play more for the midnight-cult crowd. Of course you're not going to see an ad for it sandwiched in between the evening news, but that didn't stop my Mother (a Horror and Anthony Stewart Head fan) from being exposed to it. You can find all kinds of promotion for this stuff, you just have to know where to look.

Buried had an estimated budget of 3 million dollars. It went on to make a worldwide gross of over 19 million! Yes, most of that was outside of the US, but Foreign audiences are more likely to get behind a story told entirely in a box with one character. At this point, Ryan Reynolds had not been greatly established as a bankable, dramatic leading man who could carry a picture, never mind all by himself. By now, I'm sure you're shouting at me, "What about 127 Hours?!" My answer to that is, "Danny Boyle". After winning Best Picture at the Oscars with Slumdog Millionaire, he could probably release a movie called "Dust Bunnies", and people would go just out of morbid curiosity. Also important to note, Buried is a "Horror" film, whereas 127 Hours is an uplifting drama about the power of the human spirit and the will to survive.

The Burrowers is a Horror-Western made for 7 million. Lionsgate made the right choice releasing it straight to DVD, and I'd wager dollars to donuts that was the intention all along.

As for Midnight Meat Train... Well, it's called Midnight Meat Train, for crying out loud! Only the hardcore Horror fans who love the works of Clive Barker would even bother. This was almost an entire year before Bradley Cooper burst on the scene with The Hangover and took over cinemas. Now he's in everything! :)

My point and opinion is, I think Lionsgate is probably the best home for Cabin In The Woods. It certainly makes the most business sense to me. In a perfect world, it would be at New Line Cinema with Bob Shaye still running that place, but that company is just a distributor now, so...yeah. :)

kungfubear | April 29, 03:16 CET

oh that's fantastic news!

Kayley | April 29, 03:17 CET

Next up, Firefly Season Two!

You can't hit me because I've already run away really fast.

b!X | April 29, 03:26 CET

Yessssss!

Except, if they're not distributing it in Australia, then, Noooooooooo!

Effulgent | April 29, 03:56 CET

YAY!!! Finally...

...

...

Is it October yet?

guidedby | April 29, 03:57 CET

kungfubear, the thing you don't realize is that these films were all horribly mistreated. I think Repo was in a total of 20 theaters in its theatrical run. If you have to look for advertising, that's not good. The only reason anyone saw it was because the people behind it were so dedicated. What do you mean Ryan Reynolds wasn't a bankable star? Buried came out over a year after The Proposal. Ryan Reynolds had already proved himself. The Burrowers deserved at least a limited release. It's the type of weird film that would attract the same art house audience as something like Rare Exports. And as for Midnight Meat Train...all they had to say was "From the writer of Hellraiser" and they would've gotten butts in seats. A lot of the people behind these films (Especially Darren Lynn Bousman and Clive Barker) have said that their movie was horribly mistreated and that the people at Lionsgate really don't care about most horror movies. Hopefully they can prove me wrong with Cabin, but I have yet to see otherwise.

DetectiveYelsew | April 29, 04:06 CET

This is GREAT news! And they have no reason to worry about promotion: horror movies that are released around Halloween always make money because that is what the kids want to see!
I think the facebook efforts really helped 'Cabin in the Woods' (assuming that this will really finally be released. LOL).
I can't wait.

embers | April 29, 04:26 CET

To be completely unoriginal - yay! This is wonderful news.

cardea | April 29, 04:46 CET

Like.

hann23 | April 29, 05:03 CET

A lot of the people behind these films (Especially Darren Lynn Bousman and Clive Barker) have said that their movie was horribly mistreated and that the people at Lionsgate really don't care about most horror movies.

Daybreakers was a pretty good Lionsgate release, not to mention one they treated well. The release date was pushed back from September 11, 2009 to January 10, 2010 but even so, it had a good marketing push and a sizeable nationwide release.

But that's the exception than the rule.

[ edited by Mcjw_serenity on 2011-04-29 05:05 ]

Mcjw_serenity | April 29, 05:04 CET

Great news. Does anyone know whether there is international distribution already set up? I'm sure if there was they were just waiting for the US side of things to get sorted out.

Kaan | April 29, 05:08 CET

I've decided not to get excited because of many years of being burned--but if this does get released, you can bet I'll be there on opening night.

WilliamTheB | April 29, 05:19 CET

Can I get an AMEN?

*seriously, is this the kind of place we can engage in such religiosity?* :)

MrArg | April 29, 06:13 CET

Huzzah and harooo ! Oh what the hell, i'm gonna use an extra ! And another ! Help somebody, i'm trapped in an ! factory !

Ahem. Err, good news that.

(hopefully a UK release will follow hot on the heels of the US one. Or even lead roasting on the toes of it, I could live with that too)

Saje | April 29, 07:12 CET

@DetectiveYelsew - Making movies that sell can be difficult. Selling them can be even harder. Yes, Repo had an extremely small release, but do you sincerely believe a violent, gory Horror-Musical about organ harvesting and repossession in a dystopian future is going to equal box office gold? Hell, Universal tried something similar (without the Musical part) called Repo Men, and that film starred Academy Award winner, Forest Whitaker. Audiences and critics didn't go for it, even with a much wider release behind it. Besides, of course these guys are going to cry neglect when it comes to their baby. They're too close to it. Also, all the ads I saw for Midnight Meat Train were front and center about this being from Clive Barker. To also throw in a nod to Hellraiser is redundant and unnecessary. Having said that, I did some research and came across this:

Clive Barker was angry with Lionsgate's treatment, believing that the studio's president Joe Drake is essentially shortchanging other people's films in order to focus more attention on movies like The Strangers, where he received a producing credit: "The politics that are being visited upon it have nothing to do with the movie at all. This is all about ego, and though I mourn the fact that The Midnight Meat Train was never given its chance in theaters, it’s a beautifully stylish, scary movie, and it isn’t going anywhere. People will find it, and whether they find it in midnight shows or they find it on DVD, they’ll find it, and in the end the Joe Drakes of the world will disappear."

Let's say for the sake of argument that this is true. I feel that A) The Strangers is the better film and worth putting more promotion behind, regardless of "why", and B) Clive and others shouldn't take it so personally. He's right, after all. If the film is good enough, it WILL find its audience, especially on DVD and that's all that should matter. Box Office is such a fleeting business, but it IS a business. It costs millions, literally MILLIONS of dollars to produce a thousand prints, pay for advertising time and screening space at various multiplexes across the theater. Never mind if a theater even WANTS the darn thing. That's why so many studios are always pushing for a PG-13 rating and a 90-minute run time: So more theaters will show it, and its accessible to a wider audience, with more screenings per day which means more ticket sales. Hey, I'm not saying any of this is exactly RIGHT, it's just the way it is.

When I talk about Ryan Reynolds not being a bankable star back then, notice I'm being specific here. I referring to his credibility and marketability as a Dramatic Leading Actor. Yes, The Proposal did quite well. That's a comedy. A pleasant, inoffensive Romantic Comedy, in point of fact. We already know he can do these in his sleep (not to downplay the hard work involved. I'm a fan of the man, I'm sure he's great in the film). The big star power of that film though was clearly Sandra Bullock.

On a side note, if I may: I urge people reading this to check out Ryan Reynolds in the indie film by John August, The Nines (2007). It's a psychological thriller/existential drama worth checking out, particularly for Renolds' performance.

More and more studios are closing shop these days. Studios that once had films that could basically print money for them. However, the climate is ever changing. People lead busy, hectic lives and there are more and more things competing for their attention and money. Both are scare and valuable. Some things you think are going to be a slam dunk don't work out for a myriad of reasons, many of which are seemingly trivial but could mean the difference between life or death for a given story. Others capture the imagination in ways that even the story tellers never thought possible and before they know it, they have a huge hit on their hands. Tomorrow, that same hit could fall flat on its face.

It's obvious that Lionsgate cares very much about Horror films and Genre films in general. It's their bread and butter. They're the only company right now regularly putting them out. I've seen The Burrowers trailer before. I'm curious. I've read that although it did not have a theatrical release, it did play at Fantastic Fest and the Toronto International Film Festival. I also read that it's based on a seven-part TV series. That's all well and good but given what it takes to put a film in even a small group of indie cinemas across the country, I support Lionsgate in their decision to stick to the home entertainment market with this one.

You may love it and it may indeed be solid, but the studio has to look at the bottom line. It's about what makes the most viable and cost effective sense. Some studios make the wrong choices and end up filing for bankruptcy. Lionsgate is still around and still going strong, so they must be doing something right. I think Cabin in The Woods is one of those right decisions. :)

kungfubear | April 29, 07:14 CET

Holy gosh! I had given up hope that I would be seeing Cabin anytime in the near future! What a pleasant bit of news to receive after a long and particularly frustrating day.

Also, I am totally jealous of anyone and everyone who has already gotten to see Thor. Still another whole week to wait.

Giles_314 | April 29, 08:15 CET

FINALLY.

Fred_Sonja | April 29, 09:26 CET

I'm astounded to hear that Lionsgate treats horror films badly. When I hear Lionsgate, I think horror...

QingTing | April 29, 10:05 CET

Awesomely awesome bit of news. I've been looking forward to this so much, far more than The Avengers (not being to Comics and having never heard of The Avengers until the film was announced, I am much more interested in the aftermath than the film itself.)

Now I'm just hoping for a large release in the UK. My local is terrible at showing anything even slightly outside of the mainstream, so fingers crossed that this will marketted as the film to see this Halloween.

Vandelay | April 29, 10:09 CET

This is good to hear. I'm not a horror-picture fan, but I'll be seeing this. Something in October to look forward to.

palehorse | April 29, 14:18 CET

This makes me so happy! Hopefully they'll have a trailer out by the end of the summer. Isn't there another Final Destination movie coming out this year? And Fright Night? Hmmm....

eddy | April 29, 14:26 CET

Just saw Thor premier in Estonia (I'm there on business) and it was good fun, especially the scenes on Earth. The Aasgard stuff is perhaps a bit over the top for my taste, but all-in-all good entertainment! Most importantly for this particular thread though, Hemsworth was terrific, real star-quality. As has been said here over and over, he will make a good selling point for Cabin. And now I look forward even more to Avengers...

OldSwede | April 29, 14:43 CET

Another "yay" post!

Reasons I've been dying to see this movie!

Fawning over the actors.

Catchphrase!

Heh. Seriously, this is awesome news.

dispatch | April 29, 14:59 CET

So who wants to start the "Open Dybbuk Box" campaign? It seems only fair.

Craig Oxbrow | April 29, 16:43 CET

Box has another release date in January.

gossi | April 29, 16:46 CET

Dude, Oct. 28 is my birthday! This was the perfect gift, o Universe!

Meltha | April 29, 17:08 CET

I did get the sense something very strange was going on with the "Midnight Meat Train" release. However, as far as what happened with "Buried" - I had a free pre-release screening for it and I couldn't get anyone to go with me, even those who *love* Ryan Reynolds. Everybody pleaded claustrophobia. Although "127 Hours" is about a guy stuck in a hole, there are some out-of-the-hole sequences, he can see the sky and (thanks to the "based on a true story" aspect) the audience knows the outcome.

Shapenew | April 29, 17:14 CET

Doesn't sound like Lionsgate treats films (and filmmakers) any differently than any other studio. Ever.

IrrationaliTV | April 29, 17:36 CET

Awesome news!

CandyMaize | April 29, 17:41 CET

OldSwede:

Just saw Thor premier in Estonia (I'm there on business) and it was good fun, especially the scenes on Earth. The Aasgard stuff is perhaps a bit over the top for my taste, but all-in-all good entertainment! Most importantly for this particular thread though, Hemsworth was terrific, real star-quality. As has been said here over and over, he will make a good selling point for Cabin. And now I look forward even more to Avengers...

Agree with everything you said there, having just this second returned from seeing it. Very enjoyable film. Aasgard stuff was a little po-faced, but I think it probably needed that to make the humour on Earth really work. And it really was quite a funny film. Did you stay right to the end? That really was a nice little set-up, presumably for The Avengers.

I know Joss had a hand in the script of Captain America, but did he do anything for Thor, besides suggesting the lead?

Vandelay | April 29, 18:05 CET

Buried had lots of publicity here in Toronto. It`s an excellent film and I highly recommend it, but I think people saw it as too similar to 127 Hours and wanted to see Ryan Reynolds in comedies. Shame because he`s fantastic in the film.

I went to a Repo showing and the theatre was full of Buffy fans because of Mr. Head. Most of the people I know didn`t like it.

redeem147 | April 29, 18:55 CET

As I think I stated before here, which has nothing to do with CITW, but since it was brought up, I had no idea Ryan Reynolds had that kind of acting ability in him re Buried. I am extremely claustrophobic but of course I was going to see the film. Nothing could have stopped me. And then I read about his preparation and self-imposed isolation to prepare for the role, not to mention what he went through during shooting.

To make a tangential connection to the topic, I wonder if anyone in CITW gets buried alive, but certainly there will be ALL sorts of mayhem... {{gleefully rubs evil, horror-loving hands together}}.

Tonya J | April 29, 19:44 CET

Vandelay: No, everybody left, so I didn't have the guts to stay when the staff evidently wanted me gone. I knew there would be a set-up, but still...
And agreed; the Asgaard stuff makes the Earth scenes even more enjoyable!

OldSwede | April 29, 20:08 CET

There's a scene in Thor which I ponder if joss scripted. I don't want to spoil it though by describing it. It involved somebody getting up high.

gossi | April 29, 20:26 CET

Awesome news! Hope we get more details soon enough.

Emmie | April 29, 21:20 CET

@gossi - I'm assuming you mean to say someone is physically ascending, and not waking up, baked out of their skull on pot brownies. :)

kungfubear | April 29, 22:31 CET

YAY!!
Super excited for this! xD

nthdegree | April 29, 22:45 CET

It's possible, gossi. Didn't Joss do a pretty big polish on the Captain America script?

The Dark Shape | April 29, 23:01 CET

He worked on the script with them, and attended the filming in the UK.

gossi | April 29, 23:07 CET

OldSwede, they kicked you out of the theater before the credits ended? Every movie I go to, a lot of people stay through the credits. I guess it's a thing here.

electricspacegirl | April 30, 06:38 CET

There was no kicking, I'm sure I could have stayed if I really wanted to, but evidently it is not a thing here and I hate to be a bother. I saw Iron Man II at home in Sweden, and almost everybody stayed to see the set-up for Thor at the end.

OldSwede | April 30, 11:52 CET

My local shut off the credits for Iron Man 2 so even though I was waiting, I missed it. I heard a bit later that the other (2) people in the cinema got their monies back. Now that's annoying.

Jaymii | April 30, 13:49 CET

The worst for me was when I went to see X-Men 2 and the theater turned up the lights before you even got to see the ominous Phoenix force in the lake. Of course, if that was the only time I saw that movie, maybe I could just forget about X3 being such a disappointment.

CaptainB | April 30, 14:37 CET

Whoo-hoo!

Anonymous1 | May 01, 06:00 CET

I was amazed to see quite a few people in mine actually sit through the credits to see the extra scene at the end of Thor, as normally everyone is rushing for the door the second the credits start to roll. I've even been to see National Theatre Live showings (the both excellent King Lear and Frankenstein) where the majority walk out during the applause at the end!

My usual rule, for a film I've enjoyed, is to sit through until the scrolling credits, with adjustments depending on how much I've enjoyed/need the ending to sink in.

Interestingly, when Thor ended, they kept the lights down during the CG bit of the credits and everyone stayed, which really is unheard of. No one came in to clean up either, which is very unusual.

Vandelay | May 01, 15:24 CET

Not seen 'Thor' yet (tomorrow maybe) but i'll normally only sit through for films I know have a coda (like the Marvel ones) or Bond movies (to see "James Bond Will Return" - it's tradition). That said, though they'll sometimes turn the lights up to the "You probably won't kill yourself while leaving (but still may not recognise who you're walking with)" setting my local cinema never starts tidying up until everything's finished (or maybe until the cinema's empty - hard to say obviously ;) and they definitely don't turn the film off before the very end (when all the copyright messages have been up etc.), doing that seems pretty weird to me.

Saje | May 01, 16:46 CET

I remember when I went to see Batman And Robin with my brother. He said, "Now I know you didn't like it. You're not staying until the end of the credits."

redeem147 | May 01, 18:12 CET

Whenever I go to movies with my parents, we always stay through the credits, because they're both computer graphics people and they often recognize names. So I get to see any post-credit sequences. We've been the last ones left a couple times but I don't think the staff has ever started cleaning before the whole thing's done.

Rachelkachel | May 01, 18:46 CET

April 29 2011