It’s not playing at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival, but Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly has found a way to creep into the headlines and steal some buzz.
Today, Deadline has learned from Harvey Weinstein that The Weinstein Company has pushed the organized crime thriller from October 19th to November 30th, 2012.
No other films have been scheduled for that final November slot, as the weekend after Thanksgiving has a reputation for being among the worst of the year for box-office returns. TWC clearly feels, however, that its better than opening up alongside Paranormal Activity 4.
The move also brings the film closer to the center of the awards race, which heats up when December begins.
Here’s what Weinstein had to say about the move:
“In this industry it is a very rare event to look at a weekend where your movie could open as the only wide release picture … November 30th will allow us to bring Killing Them Softly to a wide audience without competition. Additionally, the critical response to the movie has been very favorable especially on the amazing performances and November 30th positions us better in the Awards season calendar.”
TWC already has The Master and Silver Linings Playbook, two TIFF-screened films that have earned glowing praise, among its possible Oscar contenders. There’s also Django Unchained, which comes out this Christmas.
Killing Them Softly, which stars Brad Pitt as a mob enforcer, premiered at Cannes this year to largely positive reviews and it currently boasts an 89% on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.