Since receiving the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has been at the center of an enormous amount of Oscar buzz, and has been promoted before just about every movie anyone has seen in the last month.
Now, The Weinstein Company has announced that as a result of this great word of mouth, Silver Linings Playbook will be released one week earlier than planned in select markets.
Originally scheduled for wide release on Wednesday, November 21, this announcement designates 10 American markets—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, San Diego and Austin—that will be able to see the film a week early, beginning Friday, November 16.
This means it will likely receive more word of mouth press from viewers in those markets looking for an alternative to Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 in advance of the Thanksgiving releases it is up against the following week, most notably Ang Lee’s Life of Pi.
In addition to positive audience response at TIFF, the film has been praised by critics as one of the best movies of the year, citing strong performances by Lawrence, Cooper and a supporting role by Robert De Niro. It also marks another hit for Russell, who was in the Oscar mix two years ago for The Fighter.
It’s no wonder The Weinstein Company would want to get into the Oscar race even earlier given the awards-worthy releases coming out this month and in the coming weeks. It’s the type of political gamesmanship the company is famous for when it comes to awards season contention.
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Source: The Wrap