Bad Words And Sex Tape Change Their Release Dates

While it’s never a surprise when big summer tentpole movies shift their schedules around to avoid going head-to-head with other summer tentpoles, raunchy comedies aren’t usually the movies running around the calendar. That’s not the case with Jason Bateman’s Bad Words and Jake Kasdan’s Sex Tape, two of the more highly anticipated laughfests of 2014, as both of them will be coming out one week prior to their earlier release dates. He who laughs last had better find a better distributor.

Bad Words is spelling out r-e-l-i-e-f- for itself by jumping from March 21, 2014 up to March 14, which should work a lot better for it when it comes to pulling in audiences. As Box Office Mojo attests, the Bateman-directed comedy will face decidedly less steep competition from Need for Speed and Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club than it will from Neil Burger’s Divergent adaptation and the sequel Muppets Most Wanted. It’ll still be a challenge for the R-rated comedy to beat out fast cars and sassy ladies, but the film’s NSFW trailer made me, at least, want to throw money at it.

Meanwhile, those wanting to hunt down Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz’s Sex Tape can do so on the film’s updated release of July 25. It’s been just over a month since Sony last changed the date from July 18 to August 1. Maybe it’ll get an early Wednesday release next. For its new date, Sex Tape will go up against Dwayne Johnson in Hercules and yet another Step Up sequel, whereas it was previously facing Marvels’ Guardians of the Galaxy and the James Brown biopic Get On Up. I’m not sure how smart a move this was, considering Guardians doesn’t have nearly as recognizable a name as Marvel’s other films or the Hercules character.

Also starring Jack Black and Rob Lowe, Sex Tape centers on Segel and Diaz’s characters waking up one morning to realize that the homemade porn they created the night before is missing, setting off a city-wide hunt that should definitely include lots of jokes involving penises and vaginas. Just to repeat, it comes out on July 25, 2014.

For his directorial debut, Bateman plays a less than amazing man who finds a loophole in his former school’s spelling bee rules and attempts to avenge his loss there as a child. Along the way, he spews a lot of foul language and befriends a young boy played by Rohan Chand. Once more, you can find that one in theaters on March 21. Push aside the money I’ve thrown at it and check that red band trailer out below.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.