Place your bets ladies and gentlemen; place your bets!!!

The new film distributor Open Road announced today that they will release their latest acquisition, the action-suspense-drama The Grey , on Jan. 27, 2012.

The Joe Carnahan-directed film, starring Liam Neeson in the lead role, was the focus of an intense bidding war by several studios and distributors a few weeks ago, based on a screening of just 30 minutes of footage, which means they must have been really impressed with what they saw.

The film deals with a group of Alaska oil riggers who find themselves in deep trouble when their plane crashes in the Alaska wilderness.

The survivors, along with dealing with the brutal elements, not only have to battle each other, but a pack of vicious wolves on the hunt, ready to devour them.

Open Road is so excited by their latest pick up that they may also open the film briefly in December, in N.Y. and L.A to qualify it for an Oscar nomantion for Neeson.

The film also stars Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale and Black brit actor Nonso Anosie.

Hmmmm… with Anozie being the only black guy in the film, and not a well known name at that, what do you think are his chances of surviving until the very end of the film? Yeah I thought so too.

O.K. how about getting badly wounded, but still making it to the end of the film? Nah not likely. O.K. how about making it only halfway through, but taking out half the wolves with him? I could live with that. But nope I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

O.K. how about he’s the first guy among the cast who gets his head ripped off? Yeah, that looks like his most probable outcome.

I really hope I’m wrong. We’ll see in January.