Summit has just announced their plans to release The Impossible – a tsunami survival story starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts – December 21, gearing up for a probable Oscar run.

Here’s a synopsis for the film, directed by J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage):

Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her.

Based on a true story, The Impossible is the unforgettable account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time. But the true-life terror is tempered by the unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter during the darkest hours of their lives. Both epic and intimate, devastating and uplifting, The Impossible is a journey to the core of the human heart.

The film will be released in Spain on October 11, so an apparence on the fall festival circuit is certainly a possibility. The December 21 release will be for a qualifying run in LA and NY, before expanding further in early 2013.

Here’s the Spanish-language trailer, although the film was shot in English:

Are you interested in seeing this one?