'Baywatch' Starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Zac Efron Gets Release Date; Pushed Back To Next Year; Why?

Can't get enough of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after hearing his voice performance in Disney hit Moana? Fans of the wrestler-turned-actor might have to wait for a while because his revival action-comedy film "Baywatch" is pushed back to Memorial Day holiday weekend next year.

With this, the movie will compete with Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales," the fifth sequel of the Johnny Depp franchise, and with Sony's sci-fi film "Life," starring Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal.

"Baywatch"  follows a devoted lifeguard named Mitch Buchannon (Johnson) as he joined by the new young recruit Matt Brody (Efron). The film will focus on a local criminal plot that would be a danger to the future of their Bay.

Why the sudden chance of release date? According to Paramount, "Baywatch"  is avoiding competition with Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant and other films that would be released on that date. Despite this move, box office observers think that this is not really a smart move since it will compete with another watery fun adventure - Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. The Johnny Depp franchise has a box office record of high gross profit since its first film.

Plus, the consequence of the move is the time the money is going to gain profit. Memorial Day is not really a fast money maker for the industry. The pre-Memorial Day weekend frame could give a higher profit like how Godzilla and Mad Max: Fury Road experienced. It would also be hard for them not only for Pirates of the Caribbean but also they are competing against an original film like Life. 

Other stars in "Baywatch" include Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson Seth Gordon, known for Horrible Bosses and Identity Thief, is set to direct the film.  Michele Berk, Louise Rosner, Tom Pollock, and Ali Bell will also serve as executive producers. To a surprise, Eli Roth, who is known for his horror and gore films, will serve as a co-producer.

"Baywatch"  would be released on May 25 next year. The May 19 release date has Fox still opening for movies like Ridley Scott's Alien: Convenant and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.