The LA Times is reporting that Paramount is doing some serious reshuffling of its December releases. They’re said to be moving the upcoming financial drama, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” to December- after it had originally been slated to release in 2014. Its thought that the reason behind the change is to make it get noticed in time for an Academy Award nomination. “Wolf” certainly has the pedigree, directed by an Oscar winner and perennial nominee Martin Scorsese, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, alongside a supporting cast that includes Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey.

But to make this move, Paramount must also decide what to do with “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.” The latest film based on Tom Clancy’s most famous character, and starring Chris Pine, was set to be released around Christmas but studios often choose to space out their major releases by at least a few weeks to avoid competing with themselves.

The move is also notable because of the state of both productions. “The Wolf of Wall Street” is said to not even be finished yet. Scorsese turned in a recent cut of the film that came in at around three hours and was said to be rated NC-17, so he’s currently hard at work trimming the film with his longtime collaborator, Thelma Schoonmaker. Meanwhile, “Jack Ryan,” seemed to have momentum heading towards its release date. After the first real promotional materials were released a couple of weeks ago, and with the recent passing of the prolific Clancy, it looked the film was generating enough buzz to be a hit on the level of “Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol,” which was also released around Christmas.

Yet now, Paramount is swapping the two pictures and might be placing “Ryan” in the less crowded, yet less lucrative, month of January. January has also, traditionally, been a dumping ground for films that studios have more or less given up on. Maybe they’re hoping “Ryan” will prove to be a “Cloverfield”-style smash, which premiered in mid-January back in 2008 and stood out so much from the drivel it was surrounded by that it because a major hit.

We shall see how this all plays out. Which film are you most interested in?

Source: LA Times