AS expected JC Chandor’s crime drama starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain will open in the thick of awards season this year. FilmNation handles international sales.

A24, in association with Participant Media and Image Nation, has announced a December 31 New York and Los Angeles release for the film that also stars Albert Brooks and David Oyelowo.

A Most Violent Year will expand nationwide throughout January 2015. It is understood the film will compete in all categories including Chastain in lead categories.

Chandor directed from his screenplay about the travails of an immigrant family in New York during winter 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city’s history.

Producers are Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb, while Glen Basner, Joshua Blum and Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King serve as executive producers.

Chandor’s All Is Lost opened in 2013 and earned a number of awards.