With all of the buzz surrounding Ridley Scott's upcoming THE MARTIAN, 20th Century Fox's decision to bump up it's release date to October 2nd has put the fear into the competition which also includes the Bradley Cooper film ADAM JONES and Robert Zemeckis' THE WALK. Focus Features has decided to move the Gerard Butler sequel LONDON HAS FALLEN all the way to January 22, 2016.
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN opened in March 2013 without much competition and went on to gross $161 million worldwide. While that film was helmed by Antoine Fuqua, LONDON HAS FALLEN was directed by Babak Najafi. The main cast, including Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman are back along with Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Melissa Leo, Jackie Earl Haley and Radha Mitchell.
The European setting foe the sequel should help international box office greatly and could launch a franchise set in different locales around the globe. Gerard Butler has not had much box office clout in recent years but OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN played almost like a big screen version of 24. Here's hoping the sequel can replicate and build on that success.
LONDON HAS FALLEN now opens on January 22, 2016.