Lionsgate has moved 3:10 to Yuma up a month, from October 5 to September 7, reports Variety.
The film will now open ahead of Warner Bros.’ Brad Pitt starrer The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which opens in a limited run Sept. 21, and Ethan and Joel Coen’s No Country for Old Men, which Miramax opens Nov. 7.
“We certainly wanted to be the first Western in the marketplace,” said Lionsgate president of theatrical films Tom Ortenberg. “More importantly, in what is shaping up to be a very impressive and crowded field of upscale commercial motion pictures this fall, we wanted to be one of the first ones out, so that everything else will be measured against us.”
Lionsgate is planning a big awards campaign for “3:10,” directed by James Mangold and starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Gretchen Mol and Peter Fonda.
A DVD launch is being eyed for the first week of January, a key period in awards season.
