Caffeinated Clint
“Night at the Museum 2” takes its place on the schedule
James Cameron’s 3-D feature “Avatar,” which Fox planned to release for Memorial Day 2009, has been pushed back seven months to Dec. 18, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Fox announced the change Tuesday in a revamp of its 2009 tentpole lineup that will see the sequel “Night at the Museum 2: Escape From the Smithsonian,” starring Ben Stiller, occupying the May 22 spot that originally was reserved for “Avatar.”
The studio also said that “Ice Age 3,” opening July 1, will be released in 3-D. Rounding out the slate is the May 1 release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” the fourth installment in the successful “X-Men” franchise.
The “Avatar” move comes about four months after DreamWorks Animation said that it was moving Paramount’s 2009 release of the 3-D animated feature “Monsters vs. Aliens” from May 15 to March 27 to avoid a head-on-collision with “Avatar,” which would have had the films fighting over the nation’s 3-D screens.
By waiting until December, “Avatar” could take advantage of a steadily growing number of 3-D screens. Current estimates suggest that 4,000 3-D-ready screens will be in place in the U.S. by May 2009. Although deals are in the works for 3-D screens in Europe and Asia, there’s no firm estimate on how many will be in place internationally by then.
The move also is reminiscent of Cameron’s experience in 1997 when “Titanic,” facing production delays, moved from July to a similar December date, though the studio said in this case it’s not a sign of duress.
“This is a win-win for us,” said Hutch Parker, vice chairman of Fox Film Group. ” ‘Avatar’ goes to the ‘Titanic’ date in December, which was obviously auspicious for Jim and us, and by the time of the release, there will be more worldwide 3-D screens available.”
Live-action principal photography for “Avatar” is almost completed in New Zealand, where Peter Jackson’s visual effects house Weta Digital is incorporating new CGI techniques to transform environments and characters into photorealistic 3-D imagery. The new date is expected to allow Weta more time to convert its software to the new technology without rushing the postproduction process.
