It's not a major surprise, but Fox will not screen Dragonball Evolution for critics. UGO posted a story about it last week, and I think it's worth pointing out that it's the second time in three weeks Fox has dodged the press, not allowing anyone in to see 12 Rounds. That film tanked hard, which is what should happen in those cases, because usually, the only reason not to screen a film is because it's garbage.
As for Dragonball, it made our AP Preseason All-American Trainwrecks of 2009 list, placing right behind The Pink Panther 2, but Pink Panther actually wasn't that miserable. It was bad, but nowhere nearly as punishing as the first one in that series. So the door is wide open for Dragonball to swoop in and claim that crown early. I believe Fox is letting this one make its coin in the international markets, sacrificing it here at home. It has already made $22 million overseas, and the focus may be in the Asian territories, simply because it's an easier sell there.
Oh, and just because Fox isn't screening it for critics, that doesn't mean critics won't see it; we're planning another midnight show for Dragonball this Friday, meaning that we'll have a review for you pretty early that morning.
Fox has also pushed the release date back to April 10th, even though it was originally set for the 10th until the studio moved it to Wednesday the 8th a couple months ago. That's an awful lot of maneuvering for a movie that won't get a tremendous amount of publicity this Friday simply because they aren't screening it and they aren't advertising it.
