Shifting it away from a launch date shared with Paramount’s Ben-Hur remake,Warner Bros has announced it’s moving Barbershop 3 up into the summer release period, and in doing so has thrown a velvet glove at Universal’s feet. The comedy sequel will now hit theaters April 15 rather than February 26. Barbershop 3 will go head to head against Paramount’s Everybody Wants Some, Disney’s live-action The Jungle Book, Lionsgate’s Mechanic: Resurrection and Universal’s The Best Man’s Wedding.
It’s worth noting here that Best Man’s Wedding and Barbershop 3 share director Malcolm D. Lee. Lee is set to begin filming Wedding as soon as he’s done with Barbershop 3. Whether Universal will blink or Lee gets to compete against himself for the weekend’s box office take remains to be seen.
Starring Ice Cube, Barbershop 3 sees the return of most of the original cast as well as a few new faces. Joining Cube are Cedric the Entertainer, Queen Latifah, Nicki Minaj, Keke Palmer, Eve, Anthony Anderson, Common, Tia Mowry, Lamorne Morris, Deon Cole, Auntie Fee, Marcia Wright, and Regina Hall — who, by the way, also is set to appear in Best Man’s Wedding.
The first installment of the comedy series since 2004, Barbershop 3 is produced by Ice Cube, Bob Teitel and George Tillman Jr. of State Street Pictures, from a script by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver.
Source: Deadline
