The Weinstein Company said Quentin Tarantino’s new movie The Hateful Eight is getting an exclusive two-week roadshow in 70mm nationwide beginning Christmas Day. The plan is to follow that with a digital theatrical release January 8. The strategy for the Western shoot-em-up, Tarantino’s follow-up to 2012’s Django Unchained, for which he won the Original Screenplay Oscar. That also was released on December 25.

It will mark the widest 70mm release that the industry has seen in more than 20 years, TWC said today. Tarantino has been one of the biggest proponents of the format and was part of the filmmaker-led fight to keep the film stock division open at Kodak, which had decided to scrap the unit altogether until it was resurrected in February.

Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern star in the pic, whose beginnings were as violent as any Tarantino movie. The filmmaker threatened to scrap the project altogether after the script leaked out, and he eventually sued Gawker for publishing it on its site. He later retracted the suit and started casting up in earnest, giving fans a sneak peek at what’s in store in a rare 3 1/2-hour live read in LA with a loaded cast that included most of who ended up in the cast.

In Cannes last month, Hateful Eight was one of the highlights of the Weinsteins’ annual Croisette clip presentation. Footage showing striking snowbound visuals and intense performances from the likes of Jackson in vivid closeup. The plot: what happens when eight travelers and are caught in a Wyoming snowstorm at a stagecoach stopover (hint: they don’t have a tea party).

The December 25 frame is turning out to be a monster, even if you exclude Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will be in its second week in theaters. In the mix: Fox’s trio of The Revenant, Joy and latest Alvin And The Chipmunks; Sony’s Concussion; Warner Bros’ Point Break; and Open Road’s Snowden.