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On Tuesday, Chris Smallingwrote on Twitter: "Can't wait to see @RevenantMovie."

Academy Award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu's follow up to Birdman , The Revenant - which is released in UK cinemas today - centres on 1820s frontiersman Hugh Glass' fight for survival after he was mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team, and is expected to land Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar win.

Smalling's excitement about it caused a minimum of fuss. He is one of the more like-minded members of the Manchester United squad who often fronts up in mixed zones, enjoyed a cultured summer holiday in Peru and would have studied business management at university had his football career not taken off.

Watch a trailer for the movie below

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But then on Thursday, Memphis added: "This @RevenantMovie looks good," also linking to the film's Twitter handle. Half-an-hour later, Morgan Schneiderlin chirped he could 'finally take my girlfriend to a Di Caprio film'. Since then, Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young and Juan Mata have promoted the film on social media. Even Bryan Robson and Andy Cole have.

Could United be a squad of film buffs? Possibly. But the club confirmed to M.E.N. Sport it has entered into a partnership with film studio 20th Century Fox, which is distributing The Revenant.

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This would explain why the studio's iconic theme was played prior to kick-off at Old Trafford in United's last three home games. The Revenant also dominated the stadium's electronic advertising boards during the televised Sheffield United match.

United did not formally announce the partnership, since the studio preferred the club's players - and ambassadors Robson and Cole- to endorse the film on social media. United's players were not paid to plug the film.

The irony is 20th Century Fox's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, attempted to take over United via British Sky Broadcasting in 1998, only for the Monopolies and Mergers Commission to block the deal in April 1999.

“You’re bound to lose,” Sky’s then press officer told the Shareholders United (SU) spokesman and Channel 4's political editor Michael Crick.

SU held a rally at Bridgewater Hall , received the expertise of a City law firm and invested as much time supporting their club as they did protecting it.