Kick-Ass 2 Gets New Release Date To Compete With Percy Jackson

Kick-Ass 2

has got a new release date and will hit theaters on August 16, 2013, according to the image at right, which was turned up by CBM. This puts the film in conflict with the upcoming fantasy sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, but keeps it clear of the handful of other comic book movies coming out this summer (including RED 2, 300: Rise of an Empire and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), many of which have been in competition for Kick-Ass 2's opening weekend at one point or another. It retains its original release date in a handful of international territories, though, meaning that people in France, Belgium and some other market will see it about a month before it hits in the U.S. While that has become more and more common for major box office juggernauts like Marvel's The Avengers, those films are widely considered to be guaranteed smashes. Smaller films like Kick-Ass 2 don't have staggered releases as often, since the inevitable bootleg copies that find their way online following most opening weekends might eat into the box office take of a smaller film more noticeably. The first Percy Jackson film opened at $31 million on its way to a total domestic gross of around $89 million; Kick-Ass made $19.8 million on its way to a $48 million haul--although most critics and box office analysts would agree that Kick-Ass was the bigger success story of the two, exceeding expectations while Percy Jackson underperformed somewhat. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief cost around $95 million to make, while Kick-Ass only set Lionsgate back about $30 million.