Zero-Dark-Thirty-UK-PosterKathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty is heading to the Oscars next month with an impressive five nominations, with Jessica Chastain very much a strong contender for her Best Actress category.

Bigelow’s latest feature was given a limited release in the US before Christmas, and has been on wide release in the States for the past two weeks. And now the wait is finally over on our shores, with its arrival in the UK landing this weekend.

We saw two great new TV spots earlier in the month, and Sony have released an intriguing new featurette going behind the scenes of production.

“The upcoming true-life drama “Zero Dark Thirty” details the decade-long global hunt for Osama bin Laden, and in this exclusive in-theater banner, you get a satellite view of his secret compound in Pakistan. Two Black Hawk helicopters are seen approaching the fortified compound in the moments before Navy SEALs carried out the raid that lead to bin Laden’s death. The movie from the Oscar-winning writer and director of “The Hurt Locker,” will hit theaters on December 19”

Chastain is joined by an all-star cast, headed up by Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, James Gandolfini, Scott Adkins, Jennifer Ehle, Chris Pratt, Édgar Ramirez, Frank Grillo, Nash Edgerton, and Mark Duplass, with Ricky Sekhon taking the role of bin Laden himself.

Bigelow is once more directing from a script by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), with the two producing alongside the brilliant Megan Ellison (True Grit, The Master, Lawless).

Zero Dark Thirty has been receiving almost universal acclaim since its debut late last year – you can read our review here – and it’s not at all surprising to see it doing well at the box office in the States.

The film will be competing for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Sound Editing at the Oscars next month. The awards themselves will be announced on Sunday, 24th February, and we’ll be following events as they happen on the night.

Zero Dark Thirty is currently on wide release in the US, and performing very strongly at the box office. Its UK release date is set for this Friday, 25th January, and smart money says it’s going to do very well on our shores too.

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