Because sticking to one date would’ve only been too simple, The Weinstein Company have decided to push Andrew Dominik‘s Killing Them Softly from its former, comfortable spot of October 19th into November 30th. Should any concerns arise, fear not: This is only a move of confidence on the studio’s part, with Deadline hearing the shift is happening on account of the exact two reasons one would expect: box office and awards.

On the first front, Harvey Weinstein was quoted as saying that, with this new spot, Softly now has “a very rare” opportunity to be the only wide release on that weekend — it’s typically a very dead slot, year after year — while, statue-wise, the work on display will now be fresher in the voters’ minds. Really, just simple math the guy has been able to score with time and time again.

Now, in terms of the money? Again, I get it. Avoiding Paranormal Activity 4 — a film sure to win that weekend — is smart enough, while even Alex Cross may have ended up taking away from some of Softly‘s net gain. (This makes me sad to even type, but that’s the way this would’ve shaken out.) Yet, despite our very positive reaction from Cannes, there hasn’t been much impression that Dominik‘s film would be a huge player when it came to the Oscars. I’m no prognosticator, in all fairness, and Lord knows Weinstein has more experience with the Academy than yours truly — still, I don’t see a “smaller” affair paying off in that sense.

If anything, I’m just a bit annoyed that an extra month-and-a-half has been added to my wait for Killing Them Softly.

Is this news particularly disappointing? What do you make of Weinstein’s strategy?