Normally, we’ve reported on films that move away from the vicinity of the release date of Star Wars: Rogue One. After Star Wars: The Force Awakens claimed the number one spot at the box office for four consecutive weeks, who could blame a studio for rescheduling their films. But it seems as though Summit Entertainment didn’t get the message. That or they’ve really got a pair.

The studio has shifted the release date of Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, from its original July 15 release all the way to December 16, 2016. Which just so happens to be the same exact release date as Star Wars: Rogue One. More on the story below.

As aforementioned, La La Land was originally set to open on July 15, 2016, which would have meant that they would have competed against Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters. Now with La La Land moving all the way to December, Ghostbusters has no direct competition on its opening weekend.

Most of the time there are some films that open against tentpoles. But seeing as this relates to Star Wars, it is a pretty big deal. Universal Pictures didn’t budge and stuck with their release for Sisters last year, as did 20th Century Fox with Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip. Both films provided counter-programming for those who were uninterested in seeing Star Wars, and no doubt Summit Entertainment went in with the same mentality when they changed the date for La La Land. The Will Smith-starring drama, Collateral Beauty, will also share the December 16, 2016, release date.

THR believes that the change could also be due to the fact that Summit wants to give La La Land a major push during awards season. Which makes much more sense. Chazelle’s Whiplash was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It ended up winning three awards, including a surprising win for Best Editing. J.K. Simmons, who will also reunite with Chazelle in La La Land, won an award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Terrance Fletcher in Whiplash.

The movie is a modern-day take on musicals, and centers on a jazz pianist (Gosling) who falls for an aspiring actress (Stone) in Los Angeles. But they are threatened by success and are soon forced to make life-changing decisions that could have an effect on their loving relationship. The film will also star Finn Wittrock, Rosemarie DeWitt, and John Legend.

[Source: THR]