Courtesy Indiewire By Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE

In advance of its North American premiere tonight (Saturday) here at the Toronto International Film Festival, Lions Gate has announced that it will release its latest acquisition, Kevin Smith's "Dogma," theatrically in North America on November 12th.

As indicated in indieWIRE earlier this week, the film will open in wide release when it debuts in theaters. In a company statement released yesterday, the company confirmed that the movie will debut on 1,500 screens.

"Dogma" will screen at a public showing tonight at the Uptown Theater here, ahead of its press/industry screening tomorrow. According to an AP report yesterday, the festival bumped this morning's previously scheduled press screening by about 24 hours because Lion's Gate wanted the film shown with an audience, allowing select media the opportunity to see it with a paying audience before its industry showing.