To start with, Wadlow acknowledged that dueling movies are a regularly-occurring phenomenon in Hollywood, noting how in 1997, there were two action/disaster movies about volcanic eruptions (“Dante’s Peak” and “Volcano,” released two months apart in February and April that year — neither is considered much of a classic). Wadlow continued:
“There’s an interesting Hollywood history of zeitgeisty movies hitting cinemas at the same time. [Imaginary friends] was one of those things that just hadn’t been exploited in pop culture in a long time, probably not since ‘Drop Dead Fred.’ So it was bound to happen.”
“Drop Dead Fred,” if you aren’t aware, is a 1991 black comedy about a girl (Phoebe Cates) and her eponymous imaginary friend (Rik Mayall). As for “IF,” Wadlow wasn’t braggadocious; if anything, he acknowledged that even though his film is debuting first, it’s the underdog in this competition.
“It’s funny, I would kill to talk to Krasinski about it right now. I’m sure we don’t even show up on his radar. He’s had so much success with the ‘A Quiet Place’ franchise. I do wonder what [the ‘IF’ crew] thought when they saw our trailer.”
We’ll know the final tally of this score soon enough. “Imaginary” releases in theaters on March 8, 2024. “IF” releases on May 17, 2024.