Ben Affleck’s Live by Night Gets a New Release Date

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Fans won’t have to wait long to see Ben Affleck’s next Boston movie.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros. has bumped up the release date for Affleck’s latest directorial outing, Live by Night. The flick will now be hitting theaters on January 13, 2017 instead of on its previous release date of October 20, 2017.

Based on the 2012 Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, Live by Night is a crime thriller set in Boston during the Prohibition era. Affleck, who wrote, directed, and starred in the film, plays protagonist Joe Coughlin, a son of a police captain who gets into trouble with local mobsters.

In addition to Affleck, Live by Night stars Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Chris Messina, Brendan Gleeson, and Elle Fanning.

From Lawrence to the North End, the Academy Award-winning director was spotted all around town during shooting for the film last fall.

While the original release date would’ve put it in prime position for the 2017-2018 awards season, as Collider suggests, the move could put Live by Night in a spot to make a run at this year’s awards shows. After Spotlight‘s big win at last year’s Oscars, it will be interesting to see if another Boston-set project can come up big.

The new release date puts the film in direct competition with another Boston-based production as well. Mark Wahlberg’s upcoming Boston Marathon bombing movie Patriots Day is also getting a wide release on January 13, 2017, so expect to see an Affleck vs. Wahlberg match-up at the box office this winter.

‘Live by Night’ hits theaters on January 13, 2017.