“Cats” has been released to both disappointing reviews and box office returns, and in an attempt to help stop the bleeding, Universal Pictures has taken the unheard of step of sending a new version of the film to theaters.
Universal characterized the new version as having “some improved visual effects.” They sent the new digital version via satellite and hard drives to theaters this past week with the request that theaters replace the old version immediately upon receiving the new one. The film adaptation of the beloved Andrew Lloyd Webber musical opened to highly negative reviews and low box office numbers, with its visual effects in particular being heavily criticized as creepy and inconsistent, with the film being finished only 36 hours before its premiere.
It is rare, though not entirely unheard of for a film to be pulled mid-run (and occasionally re-released at a later date), but it seems to be the first time that a movie has been patched in the middle of its theatrical run, particularly one that is in so many theaters. Whether the revisions will have much of an impact on the reviews and financial returns of the movie, though I do not think it will.
Have you seen “Cats”? What did you think?