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‘Point Break’ Remake Press Screenings Get Canceled By Warner Bros.

By Dave Gulick
Published on: 00:01 PST, Dec 17, 2015

This is what happens when you don’t get Keanu Reeves to agree to be in your Point Break remake.

The Wrap reports that Warner Bros. has canceled press screenings for December 23, which is just a couple days before Point Break is set to be released Christmas Day. The movie was produced by Alcon Entertainment, which put out the film The 33 earlier this year and received mixed to negative reviews overall as well as a poor box-office return, making only $26 million on a relatively small $24 million budget.

Warner Bros., who is distributing the film for Alcon, sent emails to the media stating that they had canceled the screenings of Point Break “due to unforeseen circumstances.” It is possible that they don’t want to show the film so close to Christmas, but it is usually not a good sign for a film when the press screenings get canceled. It would not be surprising if the producers were a little bit nervous about this Point Break remake considering fans of the original Point Break, released in 1991, responded very negatively towards the trailer when it was first released. A lot of fans on social media felt that the movie was just loaded with tons of extreme sports action inspired by the recent Fast and Furious movies while missing the soul of the original Point Break.

To look on the brighter side when it comes to the Point Break remake, there is some good news that came out in the last few days. According to Deadline, the film’s producers tried out an experiment where they released Point Break in China just three weeks ahead of the domestic release here in the States. The experiment so far has turned out to be a success, with the movie taking in $34 million on a budget of $120 million. The film still has quite a ways to go to make back its money and become profitable, but those are not bad beginning numbers in a market that is not all that familiar with the original Point Break, which starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility that the unfamiliarity to the film caused a positive word of mouth among Chinese people seeing the story for the first time, which will most likely not happen here in the States.

Speaking of the original Point Break, if you asked anyone today whether they like it, they will probably either laugh in your face or say it’s their favorite film. Most people would probably call the movie a guilty pleasure, while there are other cult-like fans who legitimately love it. A lot of people think Point Break was nothing more than a silly surf movie with a lot of action, but it really didn’t have all that much action except for the amazing foot chase scene in the middle and the sky diving scene near the end. The film actually had a spiritual side to it, especially when you pay close attention to Patrick Swayze’s character Bhodi.

Released in 1991, the original Point Break made $83.5 million on a $24 million budget (not adjusted for inflation). Point Break was directed by director Kathryn Bigelow, who went on later to direct critically praised films such as The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. It is easy to go back and watch Point Break or another one of her lesser known movies such as the cult film Near Dark, released in 1987, and see the quality in her directing that would stay with her years later when she would make more Academy Award-worthy films.

Technically, Point Break is so influential that many people believe that the first movie from the Fast and Furious franchise, The Fast and the Furious from 2001, borrowed a ton of the plot elements from it. The thing that really brings this all full circle is the fact that the director of photography of The Fast and the Furious, Ericson Core, just happens to be the director of the Point Break remake.

Do you plan on getting a huge adrenaline rush and going to see the Point Break remake when it comes out in theaters Christmas day, or are you just going to kick it at home with Keanu Reeves and watch the original?

[Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images]

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