It appears that Warner Bros. is looking to enter the awards race with Clint Eastwood's latest feature. The studio has dated The Ballad of Richard Jewell for a Dec. 13 release.

Based on Marie Brenner's story in Vanity Fair, the movie will follow Jewell, who was working as a security guard at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games when he discovered a backpack containing pipe bombs. He then sounded the alarm and helped to clear the area.

Initially hailed as a hero, Jewell was soon the prime suspect. The FBI searched his home twice, and the media painted him as an overweight, failed cop.   

Eastwood's cast includes Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Olivia Wilde and Jon Hamm, with BlacKkKlansman actor Paul Walter Hauser playing Jewell.

Also opening on Dec. 13 is Sony's Jumanji: The Next Level and holiday horror film Black Christmas. Last year, Warner Bros. released Eastwood title The Mule over a mid-December weekend.