The Hateful Eight will see a limited release on Christmas Day, when roughly 100 theaters across America will play the movie’s 70mm version. Originally, the 35mm digital wide release was meant for January 8, but The Hollywood Reporter now has that the date has been moved up a week, to New Year’s Day.
This follows rumors that the showings of the 70mm prints had been cut to 50 theaters due to financial and technical constraints. Those rumors were snuffed out fairly quickly, but their existence, combined with today’s news of the hastened nationwide release of the digital format, spells some kind of wariness in the Weinstein camp.
Either way, for Tarantino fans in smaller cities and suburbs, this news is only good. Nothing seems more American than ringing in the new year with a Western gore-fest. And, of course, don’t forget Tarantino’s tentative plans to bring the film to the stage.