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Some delays are fun: Rick Dempsey sliding down the wet tarp at Memorial Stadium made rain delays exciting, and DJs who play with the five-second radio delay always makes me giggle. Add to that list Texas Rangers. Miramax delaying Texas Rangers is fun. Maybe even more blissful than The 13th Warrior (AKA Eaters of the Dead) being pushed back for two years. Texas Rangers was originally slated for April 2000, which was then delayed to a firm date of August 25th. It was promptly moved up to August 11th a couple weeks later. Then in June of 2000, Texas Rangers was pushed back to spring of 2001. Woo-hoo! Then the real fun began. American Outlaws (another teen-oriented Western) was set to open May 18th. So, Miramax said Texas Rangers will now hit theatres May 4th. Outlaws then went to April 11th, which made Rangers go to April 6th. Finally, Warner Bros had enough, and moved Outlaws all the way back to August. Miramax saw the Warner Bros move and pushed back Texas Rangers a full year to spring 2002. All good things must come to an end, and my enjoyment probably will stop when Miramax mercifully opens Texas Rangers in spring 2002. Perhaps an Imposter/Texas Rangers double feature, Miramax?

Oh well, on to the film. Texas Rangers is the supposedly true story of how the real Texas Rangers came to be in the post-Civil War Old West. James Van Der Beek, Robert Patrick, Tom Skeritt and Ashton Kutcher star as some of the founders of the Texas Rangers. Westerns are almost always a tough sell, even with major stars (Kevin Costner in Wyatt Earp) or more famous storylines (Tombstone). Tombstone became a mild hit in the theatres and on video mostly because of a very popular performance by Val Kilmer, playing Doc Holliday. A stand-out performance and/or brilliant marketing campaign are about the only things that could save Texas Rangers from opening under $5 million. Unless it gets delayed to 2005, and with inflation, it may be able to squeak past $5 million. Wouldn't that be fun? (David Parker/BOP)


September 6, 2001
One day after Mr. Parker published this synopsis, the film saw another date change, this time to the post-Thanksgiving date of November 30th. Studios are usually quite hesitant to release movies on this particular date, so the decision is fascinating. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for Texas Rangers Main Cast James Van Der Beek, Rachael Leigh Cook, Ashton Kutcher, Dylan McDermott Supporting Cast Usher Raymond, Tom Skerritt, Randy Travis Director Steve Miner Screenwriter Scott Busby, Martin Copeland Distributor Miramax Trailer Click Here for Trailer Rating PG-13 Running Time 90 minutes Screen Count 402 Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for Texas Rangers
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
Young Guns II	8/3/90	8.02	11.45	1770	4531.00	6227.4	40.48	57.84	4.57
Wyatt Earp	6/24/94	7.54	11.14	1859	4056.00	5765.9	25.05	37.02	3.32
Tombstone	12/24/93	6.45	9.39	1504	4289.00	6008.7	55.92	81.44	8.67
American Outlaws	8/17/01	4.86	5.18	2348	2068.00	2122.9	13.27	14.16	2.73