2023 is fast approaching, which means the new year’s movie schedule is quickly taking shape and ever evolving. Like 2022, 2023 looks to be another crowded year for films. Particularly the summer movie season, which sees five major blockbusters being released in June alone. Because of that, we should expect a lot of release dates to shift as we grow closer to the summer. The first example of this is the Jennifer Lawrence comedy No Hard Feelings, as the film has just moved back a week from June 16, 2023 to June 23, 2023. This is in response to The Flash recently moving up a week to No Hard Feelings' original date.
This is a smart move, as that weekend is the only one that doesn’t have a major studio film releasing. Films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Disney Pixar’s Elemental, and the previously mentioned Flash all release in June before No Hard Feelings. This Gene Stupnitsky directed film is a rated-R comedy that sees Lawerence as a “ne-er-do-well who is hired by a rich couple to befriend their socially awkward kid.” The film is also produced by Lawrence. The actress has been one of Hollywood’s hottest stars for over a decade with films like The Hunger Games franchise, Silver Linings Playbook, Mother!, X-Men: First Class, American Hustle, and Don’t Look Up under her belt. However, even Lawrence can’t take on Spider-Man, Flash, Transformers, and adorable Pixar characters all at once.
Box office wise, it’s going to be interesting to see how this smaller comedy fares in a sea full of blockbusters. Almost every film mentioned above has been a part of a franchise with at least one $1 billion film in it. If that wasn’t enough, on top of the crowded release schedule in front of No Hard Feelings, a week after its opening weekend Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is finally making its way to theaters on June 30. Now, it’s hard to imagine that No Hard Feelings budget is as astronomical as the films surrounding it on all sides, but Sony would still like to make as big a profit on this film as possible. The Flash moving forward a week might have been the best case scenario for the comedy as, again, June 23 is the lightest release week that month. The only other film on that date as of now is the untitled Adele Lim comedy from Lionsgate. Sony must be looking at that new date as a way to make the most money possible while grabbing the audience that are tired of franchise films before Indy takes over the box office.
The comedy genre had a pretty decent year in 2022 with films like The Lost City, Marry Me, and Ticket to Paradise all being successes in their own right. Sony hopes for that success to rub off on No Hard Feelings which could be a comedy to watch out for come next summer. With a major star like Lawerence at the forefront, it’s anyone's guess how well this film will do in an extremely competitive climate. It could go either way at this point as marketing for the film hasn’t started yet. With No Hard Feelings still more than six months away, don’t be surprised if Sony decides to move the film again.
No Hard Feelings releases in theaters on June 23, 2023. Along with Lawrence, the comedy stars Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Ebon Moss-Bacharach, Jordan Mendoza, and Andrew Barth Feldman.