A guy who attended the screening shares the following:
“The movie is definitely finished. Maybe they’re still making adjustments to music, but the cut I saw looked and felt like a finished project. As such, it stands to reason that they’re not testing it to see if something should be changed, but rather how and when they should market and release the thing.
“If you ask me, they’re trying to figure out whether or not they should release in fall 2017 for an awards in mind or release it in March 2018 for $$$. If they release it in the fall, it’ll be well reviewed but may be marginalized at the box office against the competition, although it may pick up a few technical nominations at the Oscars (and maybe others).
“In terms of potential awards contenders, Paramount has Darren Aronofsky‘s mother! (could gather some noms unless it outright sucks), Suburbicon (written by the Coens, directed by Clooney…sure to please, right?), and Alexander Payne’s Downsizing. So they might be testing to see if moving it back to 2017 is a wise choice.
“I spoke to one of the studio reps during a bathroom break, and he told me that they’re leaning towards moving it back to a 2017 release.”