In an official release, The Weinstein Company and Universal have announced today that Quentin Tarantino's highly-anticipated new film Inglorious Basterds will hit theatres on August 21, 2009.

While August is traditionally seen as a dumping ground for mediocre films, there has been a few standouts over the last couple of years. This past August saw the success of Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. In 2007, Superbad and Bourne Ultimatum were also able to avoid the August stigma.

Basterds is being released on the same day as Final Destination 4, which will be in 3D. There will be some slight audience overlap between Basterds and Destination since both will be aiming for the much coveted Male, 18-49 demographic.

Tarantino's new film will also have to compete with G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, which is currently set to hit theatres on August 7. Once again, both films are aimed at male audiences. Still, Basterds will have the advantage of appealing to older audiences, and Tarantino has a very loyal fan base.

The addition of Basterds to the summer slate comes as something of a surprise considering that it will likely be looked upon as Oscar bait. Universal will also be releasing Michael Mann's Public Enemies in July, which is another example of period piece that may have been better suited to a fall release date.