On This Day

The Deer Hunter released

December 8th 1978

11:39 8 December 2023

'The Deer Hunter' was released on this day in 1978. Michael Cimino’s epic Vietnam drama opened at the National Theatre in Los Angeles, where it played for just two weeks. A week later on December 15th it was shown at the Coronet Theatre in New York, again for just a fortnight.

The reason behind the short runs was to put the movie in contention to qualify for the Academy Awards the following year. It was a strategy that proved successful when the film was nominated for nine Oscars, winning five including Best Picture, Best Director for Cimino and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken at the 51st Academy Awards ceremony on April 9th 1979.

‘The Deer Hunter’ was given a wide release across the US on February 23rd, shortly after the nominations had been announced.