Paramount Delays RINGS and FRIDAY THE 13TH...Again

Patience is a virtue, but Paramount Pictures is pushing horror buffs to the limit with the company's latest decision. Variety reports that not only has the studio has delayed The Ring sequel Rings for the third time, but they've also delayed the new Friday the 13th movie.

Rings was originally set to premiere in November of 2015, but was bumped to April 1, 2016, and then kicked to October 28, 2016. Now its new date will be February 3, 2017. I don't know a ton about horror, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that moving a horror film out of a prime Halloween release date doesn't bode well for the studio's confidence in that movie.

Friday the 13th fans are also used to waiting, but while this latest delay might suck in the near future, it may not bode as poorly for the film's overall quality. Originally set to hit theaters on January 13, 2017, the new Friday the 13th will now arrive on Friday, October 13, 2017. That's a move that actually makes sense to me, and it allows the studio to reintroduce a horror icon like Jason Voorhees to audiences just before Halloween.

With Mission: Impossible and Transformers taking the year off and the pain of a big flop like Ben-Hur still fresh in the studio's memory, it feels like Paramount needed a couple of wins this year. But they recently took a $115 million write-down for an upcoming movie (believed to be the goofy-looking family film Monster Trucks), and now they won't have Rings to help them out in the Halloween season. Yikes.