‘Killing Them Softly’ and ‘Sinister’ Get Release Date Shuffles

When it comes to big summer movies, getting moved around the calendar is often a big deal. When it comes to smaller movies, a little less so. But for positioning purposes both 'Sinister' and 'Killing Them Softly' have had their release dates pushed back.

'Sinister' moved from October 5 to October 12, where it will be up against 'Argo,' 'Here Comes the Boom' and 'Seven Psychopaths' instead of 'Taken 2' and 'Frankenweenie.' The thought process seems to be that both the October 5 pictures could open huge (off hand, both could do $40 Million or more), where the later pictures are not as likely to open that big. Of course this puts it in theaters a week before 'Paranormal Activity 4,' which means they may only expect it to play one week, as the 'Paranormal' films have been consistent high grossers.

'Killing Them Softly' moved from October 19 to November 30, where it will be up against no new pictures in the wake of Thanksgiving (which will launch four wide releases). Though there is word this could be for Oscar positioning (though release dates don't have as much effect on what gets nominated as they used to), it's more likely that The Weinstein Company saw an open weekend and a chance to make slightly more money with the picture.