In an effort to capitalize on buzz cemented following its strong premiere at the recently concluded South by Southwest Film Festival, Sony has moved up the release date for Edgar Wright‘s Baby Driver. The action-thriller hybrid was initially set to open on August 11th, in the dog days of summer. Instead, Sony will release the film – which stars Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Lily James (Cinderella), Emmy winner Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Oscar winners Jamie Foxx (Ray) and Kevin Spacey (American Beauty) – on June 28th, right in the thick of the July 4th holiday bonanza.
Sony’s president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer made the announcement during Sony’s presentation at CinemaCon. Sony also showed an extended sequence of Baby Driver and brought Wright, Hamm and Elgort on stage to gin up excitement for the film among theatrical exhibitors.
The heist film – already noted for its eclectic soundtrack from SXSW audiences – centers around “a talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.” Baby Driver already has attracted fans and admiration from critics; the film currently has a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Wright has previously impressed with the cult hits Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).
With its new release date, Baby Driver will now spar with big-time summer fare including Sony’s own Spider-Man: Homecoming, which opens shortly thereafter on July 7th. Paramount releases Transformers: The Last Knight on June 23rd, while Universal and Illumination unveil Despicable Me 3 and Warner Bros. releases the Will Ferrell-Amy Poehler comedy The House on June 30th.
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