Various studios have been playing with their release schedules.  Briefly:

  • Jupiter AscendingThe Wachowski Siblings' sci-fi action film starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis has moved from July 25, 2014 to July 18, 2014.
  • Oculus – Relativity Media has set Mike Flanagan's horror film for April 18, 2014.
  • When the Game Stands Tall – Director Thomas Carter’s (Coach Carter) upcoming high school football drama starring Jim Caviezel and Michael Chiklis has moved from September 9, 2014 to August 22, 2014.
  • Blackbird (tentative title) – David Mamet's new thriller starring Cate Blanchett, Catherine Keener, and Elizabeth Peña will open on November 14, 2014.
  • Selfless - Director Tarsem’s film, which is about a dying man whose consciousness is transferred into a younger body, has moved from September 26, 2014 back to February 27, 2015. Ryan Reynolds stars.

Hit the jump for more.

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Jupiter Ascending is the only big-budget feature among the new release dates, and now it's only competition on the July 18th weekend is Planes: Fire and Rescue, which isn't much competition at all.  The real challenger is the fellow action blockbuster Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which opens the week before.  Additionally, Jupiter Ascending's move has given Brett Ratner's Hercules solo reign over the July 25th weekend.  Here's the official synopsis for Jupiter Ascending, which also stars Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, James D’Arcy, Tim Pigott-Smith, and Doona Bae:

From the streets of Chicago to the far-flung galaxies whirling through space, “Jupiter Ascending” tells the story of Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), who was born under a night sky, with signs predicting she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people’s houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Channing Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along—her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.

Moving on, Oculus will have some heavy competition on April 18th when it plays against the sci-fi blockbuster Transcendence starring Johnny Depp.  The weekend also includes Bears and Heaven Is for RealOculus played at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival Midnight Madness line-up.  Here's the brief synopsis for the movie, which also stars Karen Gillan, Katee Sackhoff, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Cochrane, Annalise Basso, and Garrett Ryan Ewald:

Years after the mysterious deaths of their parents, a traumatized brother and sister find the cause of their family tragedy: a cursed mirror whose 300-year history has left a bloody trail of destruction in its wake.

In When the Game Stands Tall, Caviezel and Chiklis star "as Bob Ladouceur and Terry Eldson, the talented coaches who led De La Salle High School’s football team to unparalleled national record-breaking success by inspiring them to stand for something greater than winning."  The uplifting sports drama will share the weekend with the likely-less-than-uplifting Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

On to Blackbird, here's the synopsis for David Mamet's first feature film since 2008's Redbelt:

Janet (Blanchett) travels to Los Angeles for the funeral of her grandfather, a Hollywood visual effects artist who moonlighted for U.S. special ops agencies.   After his death, her grandfather’s well-kept secrets become a threat to her life, forcing Janet to discover the truth about a man who dedicated his life to making illusion reality.

Blackbird will likely be the dramatic counterprogramming to Dumb and Dumber To and David Ayer's war film Fury starring Brad Pitt.

Finally, Selfless has this logline:

An extremely wealthy, elderly man dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness to the body of a healthy young man but everything may not be as good as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origins and the secret organization that will kill to keep its secrets.

Selfless currently has the February 27, 2015 all to itself.