In what has been seen as a big surprise by many people in Hollywood, Paramount has moved the Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio movie, Shutter Island, out of its October release date and pushed it back to February 2010. The reason it's an unexpected move is that many thought the film would be a big player in the Oscar race early next year, especially as it's been testing very well with preview audiences, However a February release means it won't eligible for the 2009 Oscars and would have to try and retain interest for nearly a year if it has any chance on nominations at the 2010 ceremony.
It's not unprecedented for a film released in February to go onto Oscar success, for example Silence Of The Lambs did it, but it does make it far more unlikely. Paramount is apparently hoping that with the Best Picture race expanded from five to ten nominees, they'll still be able to get some Oscar nods for Shutter Island despite releasing it well outside the traditional awards-season window.
According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, Paramount told the filmmakers the reason for the change was that they don't have the $40-$60 million needed to market the film for a major awards run this year (especially as Dicaprio wouldn't be available to promote the picture internationally). However there's little doubt while there's a significant amount of buzz around Shutter Island, a move to February is normally what happens when a studio doesn't have particular confidence in a film.
Although Shutter Island had indeed been on many people's Oscar lists, it looks like Paramount is going to put its weight behind Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones (which it's distributing in the US) and Jason Reitman's Geroge Clooney starrer, Up In The Air, for next year's Oscars, while Scorsese will have to wait and see whether he can find any success at the following year's ceremony.