Quentin Tarantino's Manson Movie Shifts Off Sharon Tate Murder Anniversary Date

The film was originally set to open on the 50th anniversary of Tate's murder. Sony also made a number of other calendar changes, including dating 'Little Women' for Christmas 2019.

Quentin Tarantino's high-profile Charles Manson movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, has moved its release date up by two weeks to July 26, 2019.

Sony originally slated the film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, to open Aug. 9, 2019, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the murders of Sharon Tate and her friends by Manson followers.

Studio insiders say the date wasn't changed because of the anniversary; rather, they say going out in late July gives the film more summer playtime. Nevertheless, shifting the date avoids having to contend with the actual anniversary.

Tarantino wrote the script, and is directing and producing the film. He describes the project as "a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood."

The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), a former star of a TV Western, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. Meanwhile, Rick's very famous next-door neighbor is Tate.

Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry and Damian Lewis round out the film's ensemble cast, which also includes Emile Hirsch, Clifton Collins Jr., Keith Jefferson, Nicholas Hammond, Margot Robbie, Burt Reynolds, Timothy Olyphant, Kurt Russell, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth.

Sony also made a slew of other changes to its upcoming release calendar, including announcing that Little Women will hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2019. It also announced release dates for Zombieland (Oct. 11, 2019) and Bloodshot (Feb. 21, 2020).

The studio also tweaked release plans for several other films, including Slender Man, which moves up from Aug. 24 of this year to Aug. 10, and Studio 8's White Boy Rick, which will now open Sept. 14 nationwide instead of first going out in select theaters.