Monsters vs. Aliens Moved Again
DreamWorks Animation Gives 3-D Flick a Spring Release
Hoping to stay out of Avatar's way, DreamWorks Animation is giving their movie Monsters vs. Aliens a March 27, 2009 release date.
DreamWorks Animation announced that their 2009 release, Monsters vs. Aliens, will be moved from the increasingly-crowded summer blockbuster season to the more relaxed spring slot. The flick is coming out March 27, 2009.
The biggest reason for this is because DreamWorks wants to give the live-action movie Avatar as wide a berth as possible. Avatar is the long-awaited follow-up for blockbuster director James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator), and has already been touted as the heavyweight contender for the 2009 summer season.
First to be Shown in Stereoscopic 3-D
DreamWorks is also taking a major chance by making Monsters vs. Aliens the first CGI film to be shown in stereoscopic 3-D. The format, the topic of many jokes in the 1950's (especially about the goofy glasses), has received a face-lift, thanks to films like the live-action Superman Returns and Disney's Meet the Robinsons, both of which were shown in 3-D. A full one-third of Meet the Robinsons' admittedly disappointing gross came from 3-D movie screens, and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is betting that stereoscopic 3-D's time has finally come.
However, Avatar is also being shown exclusively in 3-D, directly competing for the same theatres DreamWorks wants. So DreamWorks is now giving Monsters vs. Aliens enough time to make its coin, then be able to safely boot it out of theatres before Avatar is released. Hence the two-month change.
Here's the official announcement from DreamWorks and Paramount.
Glendale, CA – September 19, 2007; DreamWorks Animation , together with Paramount Pictures Corporation, a unit of Viacom Inc., announced today that Monsters vs. Aliens, DreamWorks Animation’s first-ever film produced in stereoscopic 3-D technology, will be released into theatres on March 27, 2009. The film had been previously slated for its domestic release on May 15, 2009.
Next Generation 3-D Even Unique
“I believe that next generation 3-D will make our CG films even more special and unique,” said Katzenberg. “We are thrilled to have Monsters vs. Aliens as the first opportunity for audiences to enjoy this exciting new movie experience. Moving to a March release date, which has proven to be a great slot for family films, allows us to roll out our first 3-D project on the maximum amount of screens as the year’s first big event film to hit the market in this new format.”
“We are really excited to be distributing Monsters vs. Aliens, the marriage of a new technology with the classic family entertainment audiences have come to expect and love from DreamWorks Animation,” added Rob Moore, President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Paramount Pictures. “This new immersive 3-D experience will fully exploit the latest in exhibition technology—and with the March 27 release date, we'll be able to take full advantage by showing it in as many theaters with this advanced 3-D capability as possible.”
Monsters vs. Aliens is being described by DreamWorks Animation as a reinvention of "the classic ‘50s monster movie into an irreverent modern day action comedy." It follows a gang of monsters who band together to stop an alien invasion.
It's being directed by Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) and Rob Letterman (Shark Tale), produced by Lisa Stewart (I Think I Love My Wife) and co-produced by Jill Hopper and Latifa Ouaou. There's still no word as to who is writing the script.
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