Certain delays may be blessings in disguise. The movie "Molly's Game," helmed by first-time director Aaron Sorkin, has been given a later theatrical release date.
Deadline has reported that "Molly's Game" will open in select movie theaters on Dec. 25, then will have its nationwide release on Jan. 5, 2018.
The film's delayed release moves "Molly's Game" away from Pixar's upcoming animated movie "Coco." Aside from "Molly's Game," another true-to-life story "The Papers" will also debut on Christmas Day, in order to be considered for the Oscars in 2018.
Despite "Molly's Game" being his directorial debut, Sorkin has already made a name for himself as a screenwriter.
In the 90s, Sorkin wrote and created several TV shows like "Sports Night" and movies such as "A Few Good Men." Later on, he wrote the critically-acclaimed TV show "The West Wing" and the short-lived series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."
After that, Sorkin earned an Oscar nod for writing the screenplay of the 2010 movie "The Social Network." Sorkin went back to TV and created that HBO drama "The Newsroom" which went on to air for three seasons. He also wrote the script of the biopic "Steve Jobs," which starred Michael Fassbender as the enigmatic Apple CEO.
"Molly's Game" is the true-to-life story of Molly Bloom, played by Jessica Chastain, a former Olympic-class skater who put up high-stakes poker games for celebrities and members of the criminal underworld. It also stars Idris Elba and Kevin Costner.
The movie was received positively during its tour at different film festivals last September.
This new development now puts the pressure on the film to compete for awards. While it's possible that it will bag a nomination and a possible win for Sorkin and Chastain, both of whom have been previously nominated for Oscars. It's not hard to imagine this film gaining buzz come the awards season.
