Margot Robbie’s I, Tonya sets Oscar-qualifying release date

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY – Margot Robbie’s Tonya Harding biopic is skating closer to awards season glory.

EW has confirmed the Craig Gillespie-directed film, one of the hottest acquisitions out of Toronto earlier this month, will hit select theaters on Dec. 8, with a nationwide rollout planned for subsequent weeks.

The film, about the titular champion ice skater who later embroiled herself in a plot to break the leg of her competitor, Nancy Kerrigan, world-premiered at TIFF earlier this month to enthusiastic reviews from movie critics, with particular praise — and Oscar buzz — brewing for Robbie and Allison Janney, who plays Harding’s mother, LaVonda Golden.

The film went on to become the first runner-up for the festival’s People’s Choice Award, a key best picture precursor that has gone to eight films that have either won or been nominated for the Academy’s top honor across the last 10 years.

Neon, the distributor behind specialty hits like this year’s Ingrid Goes West and Beach Rats, purchased I, Tonya for $5 million following the film’s well-received debut, reportedly beating out an $8 million bid from Netflix and further offers from Annapurna and CBS Films.