DVD-quality copies of The Hateful Eight and The Revenant hit torrent sites

Sam Jackson is going to be pissed. DVD-quality screeners of The Hateful Eight and The Revenant landed on torrent sites today, days (or in some cases, weeks) ahead of each film’s theatrical release. The Hateful Eight, the upcoming Quentin Tarantino western starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell, is set to open in select cities on Christmas in a 70mm “road show” version, complete with extra footage and an intermission. The Revenant is director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s follow-up to last year’s smash Birdman, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as frontiersman Hugh Glass, in a brutal Western that definitely does not feature a scene of a bear raping DiCaprio.

Both films are highly-anticipated Hollywood releases, and join the ranks of recently-leaked screeners including Creed, Brooklyn, Carol, Room, and for some reason, The Peanuts Movie. According to a note posted online by the piracy group CM8, the group is in possession of 40 Oscar screeners, which they are promising to release online in the coming days.

Online piracy of Oscar screeners is nothing new, but this may be the first time two major blockbusters have leaked online days (or weeks, due to each title’s roll-out plans) ahead of time. The DVD’s are sent to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar voting consideration each year, and generally find their way online shortly after.

The releases are often distributed on DVD, with a lower bit rate than a traditional consumer DVD (to thwart piracy). They are usually also watermarked with a warning from the studio against sharing or uploading the release. A full up-to-date listing of this year’s distributed Oscar screeners can be found here.

The Hateful Eight opens in Montreal on December 25^th in a 70mm “road show” version. The Revenant opens on January 8^th.