Monsters vs. Aliens Moved Up
DreamWorks Animation Flick Makes Way for James Cameron's Avatar
Jul 19, 2007
(Writer's note: This article was originally written two days ago, but computer problems prevented me from posting this on the site)
DreamWorks Animation blinked.
As I mentioned previously, 3-D theatre owners were worried that two highly-anticipated movies, DreamWorks' Monsters vs Aliens and Twentieth Century Fox's live-action flick Avatar, were hitting theatres on the exact same date: May 22, 2009 AKA the highly-desirable and hotly-contested Memorial Day Weekend.
The big concern for cineplex owners was that there wouldn't be enough 3-D theatres to support both films making their debut on the same date. It's estimated that there would only be 5,000 3-D screens in operation in 2009 (currently, there are only 700 in use). Both DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox wanted them all. Avatar writer/director James Cameron even said that 5,000 wouldn't be enough, since he would prefer to have 6,000 screens available to properly support his sci-fi flick.
Since Monsters vs Aliens is DreamWorks' first attempt to design a 3-D CGI flick from the ground up, and Avatar is Cameron's first movie since his 1997 blockbuster Titanic (the highest-grossing movie of all time so far), the battleground was set.
However, DreamWorks Animation has since declined the challenge. According to a recent press release: "DreamWorks Animation’s Monsters vs. Aliens has been slated for its domestic release on May 15, 2009, one week earlier than its previously announced date, with both the official title and the 2009 release date now confirmed for the project."
Of course, moving one week ahead is a slick way of cutting Avatar's possible profits. If DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg can convince theatre owners that an animated family film is a better bet than a big budget sci-fi flick, then that's a bunch of theatres that will be all booked up when Avatar comes to town. Then, if Monsters vs Aliens is rocking the box office charts, that means that Fox and Cameron are in deeper trouble when trying to get their product out.
Of course that rosy scenario is compromised by the fact that DreamWorks Animation hasn't had the greatest track record with movies that don't have the word Shrek in their titles. 2004's Shark Tale and 2006's Over the Hedge made decent coin with $160 million and $155 million respectively, but 2003's Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and 2006's Flushed Away didn't even make back their studio costs in theatres. And 3-D theatre owners may decide to keep their screens dark for an extra week, suspecting that Avatar will be the movie to screen in the summer of 2009.
Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) and Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) will direct Monsters vs. Aliens, with Lisa Stewart (I Think I Love My Wife) in the producer's chair. There's no word as to who is writing the script.
According to DreamWorks, "Monsters vs. Aliens . . . reinvents the classic ‘50s monster movie into an irreverent modern day action comedy." It's about a group of mismatched monsters who band together to stop an alien invasion.
