Damien Chazelle’s new picture Babylon has been pushed up with a new wide release date of December 23rd. Paramount initially planned to release it in limited theaters on Christmas before going nationwide on January 6th.
This announcement comes on the heels on Sony pushing back the nationwide release date for their award season contender A Man Named Otto. The Tom Hanks movie was set to open wide on Christmas. Now it will open in select theaters on Dec. 25th before going wide on January 13th.
Generally the weeks after Christmas draws in a lot of mostly older viewers that are more driven to upscale films like Babylon. This year, competition for this prime release window is slimmer. As of now, the only two other major films being released on Christmas are Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
The updated release date will kick off award season. Films vying for best picture nominations are usually released in January in order to maintain as much as buzz as possible until the Oscars are held in late-March.
The 1920s film about Hollywood transitioning from the silent era into the age of talkies is sure to have a lot of award potential. It has a proven big name director in Chazelle – who won the Oscar for Best Director in 2017 for La La Land. Margot Robbie already seems like an early favorite for Best Actress. Brad Pitt could also be in the running for his performance, even as he is embroiled in a domestic abuse scandal.
The cast also includes Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, Li Jun Li, Jean Smart, and Jovan Adepo.
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