A Dutch film about the Battle of the Scheldt, considered to be a turning point in World War II, will get a Christmas cinema launch after all, the makers have told the AD.

Levitate Film hopes De Slag om de Schelde will be shown on at least 250 screens across the country during the winter holidays, the AD said.  De Slag om de Schelde cost €14.5m to produce, and is one of the most expensive Dutch films ever.

During the battle, allied troops opened up the shipping route to Antwerp so the port could be used to supply allied forces in north-west Europe. The battle claimed 10,000 lives but was crucial for the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Set in late 1944 and shot in Dutch and English, the film follows the lives of three people involved in the conflict: a young pro-Nazi Dutchman, a stray English glider pilot and a secretary who works for the mayor of Vlissingen and is in the resistance.

‘Hollywood has shifted almost all its blockbusters into next year,’ producer Alain de Levita told the AD. ‘It is a disaster for cinemas, who need big films during this period. We would have originally launched at the same time as the new James Bond, but now we are avoiding it.’