Quentin Tarantino's 'Hateful Eight' to be released Dec. 25

LOS ANGELES, June 13 (UPI) -- Writer-director Quentin Tarantino's Civil War-era epic Hateful Eight is scheduled to premiere in select U.S. theaters Dec. 25, The Weinstein Co. announced.

The studio said the film -- which stars Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Dern, Demian Bichir and Jennifer Jason Leigh -- will expand nationwide Jan. 8.

"Our long relationship with Quentin Tarantino is one of the cornerstones of this company, so it's incredibly special to us to be releasing his latest film in such a spectacular way on 70mm -- we can't think of a finer Christmas gift to be giving movie lovers and Tarantino fans this year," Weinstein Co. executive Erik Lomis said in a statement Friday.

Tarantino's blood-soaked oeuvre includes Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, the two-part Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.