Quentin Tarantino's new movie The Hateful Eight is going to enjoy its digital wide release a day earlier than expected, a late Christmas present stemming from the popularity of the movie's controversial 70mm roadshow extravaganza. The frosty, bloody western will play on almost 2,000 screens starting December 30th, with a few pre-shows taking place tonight. This is the second time the movie's wide release date has been moved up from its initial position, one that was two weeks out from the movie's official Christmas Day premiere. (It was initially bumped up a week to December 31st.)

To hear distributor The Weinstein Company tell it, demand was just too high to keep The Hateful Eight out of theaters for another day. Technical issues and relative scarcity didn't keep the movie's limited 70mm release from an impressive Christmas weekend debut: the movie made $5.6 million in just 100 theaters. People who still want to see the roadshow can still do so after the film's digital wide release, though it's likely most of the viewers interested enough to know the difference have already found their way to a screening.

"The demand from moviegoers to see [The Hateful Eight] has exceeded our capabilities in 70mm," said The Weinstein Company's president of distribution Erik Lomis in a statement. "We're greatly looking forward to bringing it to more theaters and cities and give Tarantino fans across the country the chance to experience this brilliant, intensely fun piece of filmmaking."