BABYLON (2022): Paramount’s Oscar Hopeful Becomes a Holiday Movie Tentpole with New Release Date

Babylon Looks to Be the Movie of Choice For Adults This Holiday Season

Babylon from Paramount Pictures has shifted its release date around from a wide opening on January 6th to December 23rd instead.

Damien Chazelle makes great movies and when they’re released in December, the smart money is that they’re going to be very successful pictures with Oscar nominations and solid box-office grosses. When he directed 2016’s La La Land, the result was a grand box-office smash that collected $151 domestically and another $297 million internationally. That film opened in a handful of theaters at a time until it went wide. That platform release strategy was originally in effect for Chazelle’s latest film, Babylon, but, now, Paramount has decided that it probably has an instant smash on its hands. Babylon will thus go wide on December 23rd. The trailers for the film are playing on the new hit movie, Smile, and these trailers are playing like gangbusters hinting that the studio has a very hot commodity on its hands.

While Avatar: The Way of Water is opening in mid-December on the 16th, that movie could appeal more specifically to younger audiences and fans of the original. For those looking for something that has a lot more meat on its thematic bones, Babylon, seems like the perfect counter-programming to the Avatar picture coming out. Margot Robbie’s turn in Babylon looks like one for the record books too so even if Avatar: The Way of Water is a blockbuster smash, there’s certainly room for two big hit movies for adults this holiday season, especially when one carries the Oscar buzz that Babylon does.

Brad Pitt is the male star of Babylon and with Pitt coming off his wildly successful turn in this past summer’s box-office hit, Bullet Train, he seems poised to headline the event adult movie of the holiday season. Besides Pitt and Robbie, the cast also showcases the likes of Samara Weaving, Jean Smart and Tobey Maguire which is star power that you simply can’t beat especially when its under the direction of the terrific Oscar-winner Chazelle.

Opening Babylon on December 23rd will also get a lot of positive word of mouth spreading on Margot Robbie’s said-to-be mesmerizing performance in the film. This type of positive buzz is crucial to getting Robbie another Oscar nomination. Set in the early age of Hollywood, preliminary buzz suggests that Chazelle is almost assured to get another Oscar nomination for Best Director for Babylon. The early trailers have revealed the movie’s wild style and originality which is what movie-goers will be seeking at movie theaters this holiday season.

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