 The film was test screened at various colleges and as a result of audience responses, the length was cut from around two hours to 90 minutes.The film was scheduled for release on June 8, 1984 but Paramount pushed the date back to June 22, angering some exhibitors.The official reason was that Paramount wanted to avoid competing against "Ghostbusters" and "Gremlins" although rumours spread that the studio was dissatisfied with the film's quality.