Gravity Returning To Theaters For Awards Season Victory Lap
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Awards season is in full swing, with the Academy of Arts and Sciences set to announce its nominees for the 86th Academy Awards on January 16. After a full year of prestige films and CGI-heavy genre movies, we’ll soon find out which films will be honored for their artistic and technical achievements. One of the films that is high on a lot of critics’ and bloggers’ top 10 lists (not mine) is Alfonso Cuarón’s highly successful and technically savvy film Gravity. With the Oscar nominations just around the corner, Warner Bros. is trotting out the space epic for another theatrical run.
Gravity will return to theaters on Friday, January 17, just one day after the Academy announces the 86th Oscar nominees. At the moment, it’s unclear how many theaters will welcome Gravity back, but it’s believed it will be more than with a typical limited release. It’s also unclear how long Gravity will stay in theaters, since it’s slated to hit Blu-ray/DVD on February 25. Gravity has grossed $670.2 million worldwide, so this will be an opportunity for Warner Bros. and Cuarón to make more money from the space epic adventure.
Gravity will be up against some heavy competition from new movies opening on January 17. Paramount will be releasing the newest entry in the Jack Ryan film series with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, and Kenneth Branagh. The new action film was supposed to open on Christmas Day 2013, but was pushed to January when Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street was delayed in November. Universal Studios will release the new buddy-cop comedy Ride Along with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, while Twentieth Century Fox has the horror film Devil’s Due. Just because Gravity is at the top of many critics’ best-of lists, that doesn’t mean it will be the highest-grossing film of the weekend.
Alfonso Cuarón’s film will join other prestige films that will be making their way back to theaters across the country around the same time as the Academy Award nominations announcement. Sony will be re-releasing both Captain Phillips and Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine on January 15, while Fox Searchlight will re-release Oscar front-runner 12 Years a Slave from director Steve McQueen. I won’t be surprised if Gravity wins all of the technical Oscars, while 12 Years a Slave will win all of the artistic and performance awards.
Warner Bros. recently released a six-minute featurette that reveals how Alfonso Cuarón made the space epic. The feature video reveals steps that Cuarón and his son Jonás made while writing the film’s screenplay, as well as how the film transported Sandra Bullock from a Los Angeles soundstage to orbiting above the Earth in outer space. Along with Best Picture and Best Director, Gravity is also considered the heavy favorite for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for Sandra Bullock, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki.
Gravity will return to theaters on January 17, in 3D and IMAX. The space epic will be released on Blu-ray/DVD on February 25.
