Avatar pushed back

For everyone out there who was really looking forward to James Cameron’s next film AVATAR, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. Fox has pushed the film back from Memorial Day 2009 to December 18, 2009 giving Cameron more time to work on the groundbreaking visual FX. Coincidentally AVATAR will open on the same weekend that his last movie, TITANIC, opened on in 1997. As you might expect the new date is wide open and will likely stay that way as studios look to avoid Cameron’s next blockbuster. The delay will also allow more theaters to install the 3-D projectors necessary to screen the film as Cameron has imagined it (standard 35mm versions will be made available for smaller markets). The decision to move AVATAR could cause a ripple effect throughout Hollywood as studios look to either avoid December or move back into May. DreamWorks had shifted MONSTERS VS. ALIENS from a May 15, 2009 date to avoid AVATAR but may want to now consider returning to its original date. Fox also announced that NIGHT OF THE MUSEUM 2 will open on May 22nd, WOLVERINE on May 1st and ICE AGE 3-D on July 1st.