Warner Bros. is pushing back against industry chatter that Jonah Hill’s comedy “Cut Off” has been deemed unfit for release, insisting the film simply needs more time in post-production before getting a new theatrical date.
The studio called speculation that the film was “unreleasable” inaccurate, responding to a report by Puck News’ Matthew Belloni that the movie — already pulled from a planned July 17 opening — had fallen into that dire category. A representative for Hill told TheWrap the film is currently in post-production and was “not finished” yet, while a source familiar with the production challenged Belloni’s framing and confirmed a new release date is forthcoming.
The trouble surrounding “Cut Off” has been building for months. The film was conspicuously absent from CinemaCon, where Warner Bros. laid out its upcoming slate — a notable omission for a movie originally positioned as a summer counter-programming play against Christopher Nolan’s much-anticipated epic “The Odyssey.” That July 17 weekend pitted a mid-budget studio comedy against an IMAX-driven spectacle carrying a reported $250 million price tag.
The project has faced turbulence since production: Jennifer Lawrence was originally attached to lead the film before being replaced by Kristen Wiig. Test screenings reportedly scored poorly, with one attendee describing the movie as “unwatchable.” Belloni went further, suggesting the film’s ultimate fate may hinge on the outcome of Paramount’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. and whether studio film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy remain in their roles once the deal closes.
The film, which co-stars Wiig, Nathan Lane, Bette Midler, Adriana Barraza, Camila Cabello, Langston Kerman, Chelsea Peretti, and Cary Christopher, follows two wealthy siblings cut off by their parents and forced for the first time to fend for themselves. Hill co-wrote the script with Ezra Woods and wrapped principal photography in January.
The film arrives at a difficult moment for Hill as a filmmaker. His previous directorial effort, “Outcome,” a dark comedy starring Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz, earned a 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes after critics panned its tonal inconsistencies. Hill, who has spoken publicly about wanting to revive studio comedy as a theatrical experience, publicly thanked Warner Bros. leadership for backing a theatrical release strategy — making the current impasse a particularly fraught chapter in what he has described as a mission to bring comedy back to the multiplex.
