NEW YORK – Universal Pictures, citing good buzz from early screenings, has moved up the release date of "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (search)" one week to Nov. 12.
Previously scheduled to debut Nov. 19, the movie will instead expand from about 500 theaters to 2,500 theaters nationwide on that date, the studio said this week.
"After the tremendous response to our early press and word-of-mouth screenings — as well as from exhibitors ... we looked at the competitive landscape and realized that we had the goods for our target audience and the flexibility to deliver the film ... in selected markets one week earlier," Nikki Rocco, Universal Pictures' president of distribution, said in a statement.
"This will give us a jump-start on the holiday business," Rocco said.
"Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" stars Renee Zellweger (search), Hugh Grant (search) and Colin Firth reprising the roles they originated in 2001's "Bridget Jones's Diary."
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