‘Argo’ Bumps ‘Gangster Squad’ Out of October

It's hard to know what to make of Warner Brothers fiddling with their schedule right now. But they've just moved 'Argo' - which stars and was directed by Ben Affleck - from its September 14 release date to October 12. Meanwhile 'Gangster Squad,' the Ruben Fleischer-directed gangster films with Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin, got moved off the October date and is now unscheduled.

Some of this may have to do with awards positioning, but it's hard to say. 'Argo' was originally targeted to come out on the same weekend that 'The Town' hit in 2010, and often directors and studios like to have similar release dates (to wit: Zack Snyder has put all his live action films out in March to date). 'The Town' got only one Oscar nomination for Jeremy Renner, so it's possible that either Affleck or the studio want to get it closer to the end of the year so it's better remembered.

'Gangster Squad' has yet to release a trailer, but - though the cast is impressive - it seems more like a genre entry than an award contender. Perhaps Warners will switch this to September when all is said and done, though they've intimated it will come out some time before the end of the year. The problem with coming out in November or December is that when other studios start releasing their big fall films, and that season has as many A-titles as a summer season. Perhaps they think 'Squad' can play with the big boys.