Strays is headed for a theatrical release in August. WGA strike to blame? Deadline

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With Universal pushing the August 18 R-rated comedy Please Destroy to Peacock, another R-rated film, Strays, featuring the voices of Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx fills that date. Originally, Strays was due to open on June 9, a month away.

The WGA strike is partly the reason for the Strays movie; an original bawdy comedy like this needs all the late-night TV show promotion it can get. Strays was about to start being featured in the press and throwing a junket in the near future.

However, Universal had great luck with R-rated comedies in August, read 2005’s The 40 Year Old Virgin ($21.4M opening, $109.4M domestic) and 2019’s Good Boys ($21.4M opening, $83.1M domestic soundtrack), and Strays’ move to August 18 underscores the studios’ confidence in the film. Additionally, Strays was in the middle of a flurry of tentpoles, taking on Paramounts Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and starring in CinemaCon’s outgoing homing missile, Warner Bros./DCs The Flash on June 16. Such branded fare has a marketing advantage over an original title like Strays that requires more care.

On its new date, Strays is bawdy counter-programming to DC’s family film Blue Beetle.

Ferrell recently appeared at CinemaCon during the United session two weeks ago and knocked the house down at Caesars Palace Colosseum Theater with a cute dog comedy routine (which stars in the film).

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