Relativity’s “The Raven”, scheduled to open on March 9 against John Carter, is re-scheduled to open on April 27

A bit of good news for Disney’s John Carter: Relativity Media has re-schedued “The Raven” to open on April 27th, removing one of the main competitors from John Carter’s March 9 release frame. Directed by James McTeagur and starring John Cusack and Brendan Gleeson, “The Raven” is a gritty thriller in which Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack, “Being John Malkovich”) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, “Immortals”) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (“V For Vendetta”), the film also stars Alice Eve (“Sex and the City 2”), Brendan Gleeson (“In Bruges”) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (“Faster”).

This leaves Urban Comedy “Think Like a Man” starring Chris Brown, Gabrielle Union, and Kevin Hart as the only wide release on March 9.

Comment: Typically, on the second weekend in March, the field includes 3 wide releases. For John Carter to have only one wide competitor — and that an urban comedy — is arguably worth a $3-5M boost to John Carter.