Movies - TV
Frank Darabont Begged For The Mist to Have a Better Release Date [Exclusive]
ANYA STANLEY
In terms of Stephen King adaptations, Frank Darabont is an old hand; his adaptation of “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” earned seven Oscar nominations, while “The Green Mile” earned four. Thus, it’s surprising that the filmmaker’s adaptation of “The Mist” was so poorly received, which was in part due to the film's badly timed release.
In an exclusive /Film interview on the 15th anniversary of the film’s 2007 release, Darabont revealed that he fought producer Bob Weinstein very hard on the film’s release date. Darabont said, “I begged [Weinstein]… let’s wait until February when there’s nothing in theaters. Don’t release this as the holidays are approaching. Please don’t.”
Thomas Jane, who starred in “The Mist,” echoed these sentiments, calling the release date “particularly tone-deaf” because “Nobody wanted to see ['The Mist’] on Thanksgiving weekend with their whole family.” Indeed, "The Mist" settled for ninth place on its opening weekend, but ultimately made a respectable $57 million against an $18 million budget.