Affleck's Crime Movie "Live by Night" Moves Up, Now in the Oscar Race

Warner Bros. has moved up the release date for Ben Affleck's Prohibition-era crime movie Live by Night. The film will now see a limited release on Christmas Day, making it eligible for Oscar consideration this year. The wide theatrical release remains on schedule for January 13, according to Collider.

The site suggests Warner Bros. moved up Live by Night's release because it didn't have a strong Oscar-hopeful film outside of Clint Eastwood's Sully.

Live by Night stars Affleck as a gangster in the Prohibition era. Affleck directed the movie and wrote the screenplay. Oscar-winner Robert Richardson (The Aviator, The Hateful Eight) worked on the movie as its cinematopgrapher. You can see a trailer for the crime movie above.

Affleck's co-stars include Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana, Anthony Michael Hall, Brendan Gleeson, and Scott Eastwood. The movie is based on the Dennis Lehane book of the same name.

Live by Night is Affleck's first time back in the director's chair following 2012's Oscar-winning Argo. He's also slated to star in and direct a new Batman movie, which might be called The Batman.

Affleck will be seen next in this month's The Accountant.