A few days back, Lionsgate announced they are moving Frank Miller’s The Spirit from January 16, 2009 to Christmas day this year. THR quotes Lionsgate president Tom Ortenberg, “Comic-Con fans (in New York in March) resoundingly confirmed what we felt in our bones about ‘The Spirit’: this is a great film and an irresistible piece of entertainment. … For all of us, it was an easy decision.” But, was this really the best date for the film?

At first I thought this was a knee jerk reaction to the Star Trek reboot being pushed until May 2009. That decision, of course, was made a few months ago. But, if Lionsgate really thought they got a good reaction out of Comic-Con… I just don’t buy it.

Let’s take a look at what The Spirit would have been going up against on its original release date in January, which has always been a dead month until Cloverfield molested the box office earlier this year.

• Mall Cop, a Kevin James movie
• Notorious, a biopic B.I.G. picture
• I Love You Man, a movie where Jason Segel and Paul Rudd will most likely be wasted
• They Came From Upstairs, a teen-oriented alien movie

Now, I’m pretty positive Notorious will be a limited release film, as Fox Searchlight is putting it out. So, that’s definitely not any competition. Mall Cop and I Love You, Man both seem disposable and the leads in both movies have opened a picture, unless you count I Now Pronounce You Larry and Chuck, but that was really an Adam Sandler vehicle. James just came along for the ride. That leaves us with They Came From Upstairs, which quite honestly, could’ve proved to be big competition. It stars Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical, will be a huge drawing point for the 15 and under crowd. Not to mention, the film is about aliens. With High School Musical 3 hitting the big screen later this year and assuredly destroying everything in its path, Tisdale will be more of a household name if she isn’t already. So, as odd as it may sound, I think this is what scared The Spirit away. The counter programming just wouldn’t have worked well that weekend.

So, yeah, the move seems a little more understandable now. But, what about the new date, during the Christmas season, which is normally a time for families to go watch family movies? Not, you know, gritty R-rated superhero movies, which is assuredly what Frank Miller is going for.

• Bedtimes Stories, a DISNEY family movie with Adam Sandler
• Marley and Me, a family movie about a dog

Mark my words: Bedtime Stories will rule Christmas. People love Sandler and keep shelling out their hard earned money to watch his tripe. The plot is noted as, “A family comedy about a guy (Adam Sandler) whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his nephews start to magically come true.” Sounds like it has an Enchanted vibe, which made tons of money. It’s also being directed by Adam Shankman, which is probably one of the most dispensable directors working in Hollywood today. But, that won’t matter to anyone. It’ll make big money anyway. Marley is about a rambunctious family dog. Kids love animals but animal pictures haven’t done well in the past few years, unless you’re a chipmunk. So, the verdict is still out on that one. For Christmas Day fare, it’ll probably do decent business though. Now, The Spirit could work as counter programming against both of these. AVP: Requiem actually did decent business last year on the same day so maybe people like stylized violence with their gingerbread cookies. Then again, its only wide-release competition was a movie produced by Oprah and The Water Horse, which disappeared into the oblivion a few weeks after release. It didn’t have to deal with a Disney movie, that’s for sure.

So, maybe that date change wasn’t so good after all.