Writer-director John Wells‘ debut The Company Men will now be released on January 21, rather than the December 10 date it was currently planned for. Wells‘ film has seen multiple roadblocks on its way to its release, though some early reactions suggest that the film should be taken seriously. Usually projects that keep getting delayed like this are likely to be a flop, but Cinema Blend‘s report states that there is solid reasoning for the way that The Weinstein Company has handled this film:
Quoting an insider, the company feels that December is simply too crowded for their film, with True Grit, The Fighter, Black Swan, and The King’s Speech all expected to draw the same audience (it’s also worth noting that The King’s Speech is being promoted by Weinstein Co as well).
Also important to note is the fact that the company still plans on giving the film a week-long December release in both New York and Los Angeles to qualify for the Oscars. Clearly, they still feel there is some awards potential, and why shouldn’t they? With a cast that includes Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Maria Bello, there’s bound to be at least a little bit of a shake up in the supporting acting categories:
But what about the film’s Oscar potential? The studio is arranging for the movie to be shown for one week later this month in New York’s AMC Lincoln Square and Los Angeles’ AMC Century City theaters, which is all the film needs to qualify for consideration.
For some reason, The Company Men has had the unfortunate fate of being killed by buzz. Whereas the festival circuit is a great asset to many films each year, it’s also a killer to others, and The Company Men is in the latter category. We’ll have to see if the January release will pay off in some way, shape, or form.
Do you think The Company Men has a shot of entering the awards game?