Movies that are already "in the can" can have their release dates moved back for a myriad of reasons that all boil down to one bottom line: money. That is, the studios anticipate how much money a film will gross. If the climate for a certain film looks inclement, then the release will be moved to a time the forecast predicts it will reap the most financial gain possible.

Historically, most films that are released between January and March are…how shall I put it…below par. So, releasing "Daredevil" - something with a lot of effects and Ben Affleck - is a pretty sure bet to make a lot of money. Why? Because there's nothing better to watch at the movies. BTW, "Daredevil" was one of the flicks that got moved back to a 2003 release. It could have been released last fall, but as it turned out, a better financial decision to debut in early 2003. I don't think they were expecting it to earn a lot of nominations. "The Hunted" is the new film starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro. It was originally scheduled to be released February 28, but is now scheduled to be released on March 14. Part of the reason for the delay in release could be because of Benicio Del Toro's injury that held up shooting. This delay wasn't too significant and rescheduling the release of a film that isn't considered "major" is common. "The Hunted" wouldn't have had too much competition if it had opened on 2/28 and could have been #1 that weekend. But the same can be said for the weekend of 3/14, so it probably has the same chance of being #1 that weekend, too.

Most studios can predict what will be number one at the box office opening weekend and will often work together to allow each film its place in the sun. Last year, Columbia made a deal with George Lucas to release "Spider-man" early in May so "Star Wars Episode II" could have Memorial Day weekend. Both studios knew that each film would make a lot of money and each wanted to be #1 on their opening weekend. So "co-opetition" aside, let's look at some very legitimate reasons certain films release dates were pushed back a few months.

TERRORISM

9/11 pushed back the release of several films and even scrapped a few projects on the books. Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Collateral Damage" about a terror attack was supposed to be released in the fall of 2001, but understandably got pushed back until 2002, so that nerves were calmed a bit. It still ended up being a disappointment at the box office. Gywneth Paltrow's comedy, "A View From the Top" about stewardesses was left at the gate for months and months. It will finally be released shortly - March 21 to be exact. We'll see how it fares financially.

Another 9/11 victim was actor/director Peter Berg. He scrapped two projects before production even began. One involved rogue firefighters and another project dealt with weapons of mass destruction in the Soviet Union. Instead, he's got an untitled project (as of this writing) starring The Rock and Seann William Scott that's about…well, it probably has a lot of guys getting beaten up in it. Right now, it's scheduled to be released on September 26, 2003. Feel free to start an office pool on whether or not "Untitled" actually hits theaters on that date.

"Phone Booth" starring Colin Farrell was originally going to be released last fall, but the thriller about a man trapped in a phone booth under a sniper's careful watch was moved back until 2003 until the real life Washington DC snipers were caught and off the street. It's now scheduled to hit theaters on April 4. But now, even "Willard" is getting more publicity than "Phone Booth" is. I guess the likelihood of a swarm of rats attacking us isn't something the Department of Homeland Security is very worried about.

OTHER FILMS ON LAST YEAR'S LIST

A lot of films Jesse talked about like "Panic Room" and "Lord of the Rings II" came out on schedule. Some like "Slap Shot 2: Breaking the Ice" went straight to video. (Don't make the same mistake I did and rent it.) Here's the status on a few films that, if things had gone to plan, we'd be able to purchase on DVD by now.

· Batman Year One: Still in development. In fact there's another Batman flick, "Batman: The Frightening" that's also in development. The latter film will have The Scarecrow in it. But, don't look for either of these films in theaters any time soon. If I had to guess, I'd say the earliest you'll see these films is 2005. In the meantime, we can watch "Return to the Batcave."

· Fantastic Four: Last month the news was that they were going to begin production in April 2003. Now the word is that another writer has passed on the project. What can stretch further? Reed Richards OR the calendar date from which this film was supposed to begin to the calendar date they actually begin production?

· Ghost Rider: Still in the discussion stages. Nicolas Cage still wants to do it, but there are creative differences clogging the works and no studio has attached itself to the project. When all that's settled there will be more scheduling conflicts to work out, etc. Again, I can't see this in theaters until 2005 at the earliest (if it even happens). But "Elektra" (from "Daredevil") will have definitely her own flick. Watch for them to put this one on the fast track.

· True Lies 2: Got me. But "Terminator 3" will be out this summer. This time, Arnold battles a female Cyborg who…zzzzzz. Sorry. Since they have to keep "resurrecting" the T1000 character for each Terminator film, wouldn't it have been cooler if Arnold played the good Cyborg and the bad Cyborg? Then he would have had to battle himself this time around? And then you wouldn't know which T1000 was the good one and which T1000 was the bad one. Yeah, this scenario's been done, but so has fighting a female villain.

· Matrix 2 and Matrix 3: Well, they ran a promo for this during the Super Bowl, so it better be out this year. "Matrix Reloaded" is scheduled in theaters on 5/15/03 and "Matrix: Revolutions" is on the boards for 11/7/03. Originally they were supposed to be out last summer. Maybe Neo had to go back into the Matrix to re-tweak…oh, never mind.

· Exorcist: The Beginning: When Jesse wrote his article, it was titled "Exorcist: Dominion." The plot is still the same - it follows Father Merrin in his youth before he ever meets Regan. Scheduled release date is July 18, 2003. Shouldn't "Exorcist: The Beginning" have been about the fight between God and Lucifer? Just a thought.

· Tron 2.0: Now it's being called "Tron Killer App." It's still in the writing stages and there are rumors swirling around that this film won't even get made. If it doesn't get made, someone will most likely do another movie with a similar premise (living inside some sort of computer mainframe). Wait a second, what's the Matrix again?

Aside from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) as a source for what's happening in productions, check out Comics2Film (www.comics2film.com/) for news on your favorite strips that are in development for the screens (big and small).

But what about why films are delayed? Well, projects get delayed in life. But if you want to get a handle on what film might or might not have a release delay (that sounds like something that happens to men as they get older), here's a way to look at it. Think of a film as an A, B or C project. An A project would be "X-Men 2" and anything that a studio thinks will be nominated for an Oscar. These films will almost always be released on time. ("Matrix" films being an exception to the rule this time around.) B films (e.g. "The Hunted" or "Phone Booth") can have more fluidity with their release schedules. This fluidity is designed so that the film can have a strategic opening weekend advantage. And C films will either be released during a very slow movie week or they're already on the shelf at Best Buy.

But be optimistic. If an A or B film is supposed to be released on a certain date (or year) and isn't, that's not always a bad thing. "Titanic" was delayed and delayed and there were all sorts of sinking ship jokes going around about that film. And you know how that turned out. Maybe "True Lies 2" has a chance after all.