Mary Poppins Returns

The video above is the trailer for Mary Poppins Returns, an update of the classic 1964 film. I like the look of this trailer, which has a lot in common with the original, and some nods to it. I’m keen to see it because the first feature movie I can remember seeing was the original Mary Poppins, which my mother took to me see, then bought me the soundtrack album afterwards.

Mary Poppins Returns is due to be released in the USA on December 19, however, it’s not scheduled to be released in New Zealand until January 1, 2019. We went through a period when all major movies had a global release date, but that’s been slipping in the past few years, and we now often get movies weeks after they open in the USA. It’s a terrible mistake.

Hollywood studios want people to see their movies in the cinema, but if we have to wait to see them a couple weeks later, it is often too late because there’s no such thing as isolated markets anymore. The buzz from Americans on social media can convince some people to not bother seeing a movie by the time it opens here. But if the movie is very popular, that provides a powerful incentive for people to watch the film illegally, costing the studios money. A global release date is the sensible option in this interconnected age.

This means that since I know I’ll see people talk about the movie well before it opens here, it’s probable I won’t see it in the cinema at all. It’ll eventually show up on free-to-air TV, and that may end up being how I see it—if I can be bothered by then.

So, even though I have big sentimental reasons for wanting to see the film, regardless of whether it’s any good or not, the delayed release date may talk me out of seeing it, especially if it’s bad. But, right now, I’d like to see it. Everything is possible—when it's possible, actually.