Warner Brothers has just announced they'll be pushing Ben Affleck's political thriller ARGO back a month, now hitting theaters on October 12th, 2012. While this may seem like trivial news, it speaks much louder of their faith in the film.
September releases have long been seen as a dumping ground for the summer blockbuster leftovers and the subpar dramas that have little to no Oscar hopes. This slight move pushes ARGO up the Oscar hopeful list, showing that they see a lot of potential in it. After the success of Affleck's previous directorial effort, THE TOWN, this shouldn't come as a big surprise.
According to Cinema Blend, this move could also mean ARGO would get a coveted premiere slot at the Toronto Film Festival come September. This would surely increase any award chatter leading up to its release and award campaign blitz.
This is all well and good for ARGO, but its move affects THE GANGSTER SQUAD which was also thought to be a contender come Oscar season. From ZOMBIELAND director Ruben Fleischer, it stars award show favorites like Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, and Josh Brolin. It previously had the October 12th slot, but has no official release date at the moment.
Wherever they do decide to move THE GANGSTER SQUAD will be very telling of Warner Bros' thoughts on its award chances. Moving it up, if it's even ready, likely weakens its odds, but moving it too far back pushes it into the very crowded holiday award show season. With major blockbusters already on the docket, like the last TWILIGHT film and the latest Bond installment SKYFALL, it's a precarious situation and it'll be interesting to see where it finally lands.
Source Cinema Blend
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