Yeah, yeah we know… This year's Oscars are still about a month away, but we're already starting to see the next awards season shape up. Films like "Captain Phillips" and "Saving Mr. Banks" — both starring Tom Hanks, mind you — have already staked out fall dates, and now another big contender is swinging onto the playing field.
Ridley Scott's highly anticipated, Cormac McCarthy-penned "The Counselor" is now set for a November 15th release, the same weekend as another contender, the recently slated Wikileaks movie, "The Fifth Estate." Plan accordingly. Starring a ridiculous ensemble including Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Dean Norris, Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo, Natalie Dormer and Goran Visnjic, the film, about a lawyer who gets mixed up in the drug trade, seems like a straight-up genre play. But we're guessing there may be a performance or two in here that could get some nomination consideration, and perhaps Fox is hoping this is the next "No Country For Old Men." We'll see…
Either way, it seems every studio wants November 15th as Warner Bros. has decided to drop their old man boxing movie "Grudge Match" on that Friday too, as they hope it can duke out both "The Counselor" and "The Fifth Estate." The movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro as some retired pugilists who get back in the ring to settle an old score. It's "Raging Bull" meets "Rocky," some quote hack has already said! It seems old people punching things will never get… old.
Finally, Lionsgate is dropping some supernatural something or other called "Ghosts" into theaters on January 10, 2014 so expect it to be cheap, shitty and available on DVD four months later. [Box Office Mojo]