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Thursday
08Oct2009

Weinsteins Move 'Nine' To December 18th

DateThursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:37PM
I sure hope you've been filling out your movie calendar in pencil this year: Yet another move, this time for one more Oscar front runner. On the heels of Up in the Air moving from December to November back to December, The Weinstein Company has shuffled Nine from November 25th to December 18th, according to Rope of Silicon.

It's not the animated 9 nor is it District 9. Instead, Nine is the film adaptation of the stage musical, which itself is an adaptation of Fellini's classic, 8 1/2. The reasons it's such an early favorite for nominations include the director (Rob Marshall from Chicago), and arguably the best cast in years: Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and Kate Hudson (...and Fergie). We know the Academy has a soft spot for musicals, and this one appears to have all its bases covered.

I don't know whether or not this is the best move or not. It's more financially prudent, perhaps, because as we know, The Weinstein Company is not weathering the economic downturn very well. Few studios are. But I believe that this movie and this movie alone is the basket Harvey and Bob are loading with all their eggs.

If this movie goes belly-up and it doesn't score some big nominations, that could be it for The Weinstein Company. Not to be a doom-and-gloom guy, but outside of Scream IV, there's nothing going on for this company past the current Oscar run for Nine and possibly The Road. Just look at the upcoming slate of films.

So, while the Weinsteins might have to spend less to promote Nine because it won't be available until late December, that's also not nearly as good a window to release a movie, on the whole, as the week of Thanksgiving. There's more competition then, yes, and that's precisely why there is. Whether or not this move pays of for Nine could tell us a lot about whether or not the movie will pay off for The Weinstein Company when it needs to most.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | CommentPost a Comment |

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