The film premiered at Sundance in January to awards buzz and a record purchase by Fox Searchlight, who bought the film for $17.5m (£13.2m).
In 1999, the actor, writer and director was accused of rape along with the film’s co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has spoken about the controversy surrounding Nate Parker’s slavery drama The Birth of a Nation, saying filmgoers should separate the film from its director’s “personal issue”.
“Do I want to see a movie from someone who has committed an assault against a woman and who I do not think recognises his guilt?