Moronic Decision-Making In Play - Universal Swapping Oblivion Out for 3D Jurassic Park

The thrust of this news-item (as broken by Variety's Jeff Sneider) is Jurassic Park added the growing list of populist fare we grew up watching getting a post-converted 3D theatrical release. Putting aside your love or distain for this, the real story is Universal’s decision to slot it on July 19, 2013.

Universal already had their big late-July tentpole in Oblivion. Its director Joseph Kosinski is coming off Tron: Legacy, true, and even Disney didn't want it after that didn’t bring back light-cycles and stoner Jeff Bridges as hoped. But its big science-fiction action spectacle, that July position has proven to be a prime spot and, most importantly, stars Tom Cruise, coming off Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the biggest hit of his career and widely-viewed as his comeback.

That will instead move up to April 26, 2013, and no doubt, Universal will hope to repeat with their "Summer starts with us..." campaign that made Fast Five steal thunder (No pun intended) from Thor.

Those guys may still have blue balls from all the risks they took that blew up in their faces, but swapping out a 20 year old blockbuster (popular as it is) and slapping on 3D in place of a brand-new blockbuster-in-the-making is a big bone-headed call.