MONSTERS VS. ALIENS is apparently afraid of facing AVATAR. DreamWorks Animation’s moved the released date of their 3-D cartoon up from May 2009 to March 27, 2009, in order to avoid a confrontation with James Cameron’s 3-D action film (his first narrative feature since the Oscar-winning TITANIC in 1997).
DreamWorks typically releases their animated blockbusters during the lucrative summer market, but the March release date offers a chance to capitalize on Easter vacation. Studio exec Jeffrey Katzenberg joked that summer would begin on March 29 in 2009.
The reason given for the shift in release date was the limited number of screens available to show 3-D films, which would make it difficult for two 3-D films to reach an audience simultaneously:
“These movies really were going to divide the marketplace,” Katzenberg said. “The issue wasn’t the content of ‘Avatar.'”