Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that the release date for the 2009 “Monsters vs. Aliens” movie will be pushed up from May 2009 to March 2009. The change comes in response to the release of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” another animated film from Fox.
Katzenberg expects anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 3-D screens available nationally by the 2009 release date. The move was a smart play by Katzenberg; both “Monsters vs. Aliens” and “Avatar” were expected to make use of the growing number of 3-D digital screens. Although the date change means sacrificing pre-summer and Memorial Weekend sales tickets, it helps Dreamworks avoid additional competition for screens with Fox.
Katzenberg told the Hollywood Reporter, “I saw more and more problems splitting the market for 3-D right at the time when it will be becoming the most exciting thing in moviegoing… Instead of splitting the market, I want to see it get launched in the best possible way.”
