MUSEUM 2 Shifts to May 2009, AVATAR Pushed Back

By: Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor
Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Source: Variety

20th Century Fox has shifted the release dates for two of their tent pole films in 2009, reports Variety. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2: ESCAPE FROM THE SMITHSONIAN will now debut on Memorial Day weekend, opening up on May 22, 2009. In turn, the studio has shifted James Cameron's live action/CGI technology filled AVATAR 3-D back to December 18, 2009, giving Cameron more time for post-production and more time for theaters to install 3-D technology. This new release date means the film will be opening up the same weekend as Cameron's last film, TITANIC.

Museum 2 will be the first major Hollywood movie shot at the museum complex in Washington, D.C. Returning scribes Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon handled the screenplay, with a rewrite by Scott Frank. Shawn Levy is returning to direct. Ben Stiller returns alongside some actors from the first film and some new "Smithsonian" characters will be cast in the coming weeks. In bringing the Smithsonian museum to life, sequel also will introduce more historical figures to the franchise, including Amelia Earhart.

Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios also announced their plans to produce ICE AGE 3 in digital 3-D. The animated sequel was already set for release on July 1, 2009. Director Carlos Saldanha returns behind the camera, adapting a script by Michael Berg and Peter Ackerman. Voice talent Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah and Denis Leary are all coming back for the third installment.

Announced dates for 20th Century Fox Tentpoles in 2009:

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE will hit theaters May 1, 2009.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2:ESCAPE FROM THE SMITHSONIAN will hit theaters May 22, 2009.

ICE AGE 3 will hit theaters July 1, 2009.

AVATAR 3-D will hit theaters December 18, 2009.

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Comments/Responses

NotAFan • Dec 12, 2007, 04:15am •

WTF! How do you make a sequel to that movie without exactly copying the first movie? HOW? 'Tis nigh impossible, I tellith you, 'tis nigh impossible!

sithtemple • Dec 12, 2007, 04:38am •

I totally agree that it will be a copying of the first movie, but the first one was fun so I will go see it. I will just have to see during the week or the weekend after since I will be at Indiana Jones that weekend. What is Fox or any other studio thinking of opening a movie on the same weekend as Indiana Jones. Even if that movie does not live up to other Indiana Jones movies. It will still dominate its opening weekend.

ponyboy76 • Dec 12, 2007, 04:44am •

I didn`t like Night at the Museum, not one bit. It wasn`t all that funny and I like Ben Stiller. I didn`t like Jumanji either and this is sort of the same kind of movie. I guess its just not my thing.
I am not surprised that they are pushing back Avatar 3-D. That movie will take so long to come out, Cameron`s kid is going to have to finish working on it. Only James Cameron could direct a movie every 12 years and people still be excited to see it. Anyone else would no longer have a career.

dangunn80 • Dec 12, 2007, 06:08am •

night at the mueseum 2?? are u joking? ice age 3??? wat? haha. 'watta predicament' as J Travolta said. Oh god. Those film franchises need to stop. my god.. haha.

Dazzler • Dec 12, 2007, 06:31am •

I hate seeing release dates that are more than a year away, what's the point?

rgtchtiger • Dec 12, 2007, 08:07am •

Oh, great! Now I have to wait ANOTHER 6 friggin' months for Avatar???? I understand Cameron's reasoning given the technology used for the film, but this is killing me!!

As for setting release dates more than two years in the future, studios will do that to one-up each other. If Sony declares Spider-Man 4 to be released on a specific weekend in 2009 or 2010, other studios will know that weekend will belong to Spider-Man and have to juggle their release dates accordingly. If Paramount/DreamWorks schedules Transformers 2 for a July 4 release date in 2010, other studios will respond to that as well. Scheduling means a heck of a lot less to us as moviegoers than what it means to competing studios.

exfan • Dec 12, 2007, 08:25am •

ponyboy, two days ago you was surprised that peoples don t think scary movies was funny, now you simply say night of the museum was not funny, one question, did Jim carrey make you laugh ? perhaps mel brooks ? or the monthy python, because i am telling you, no matter what you say about religion, education or wahtever to determine humour, scary movies are NOT FUNNY, ONLY STUPID !!!!!

ponyboy76 • Dec 12, 2007, 09:05am •

I`m not trying to be a dick, but maybe you just didn`t get the jokes in Scary Movie. Maybe you did, and that type of humor isn`t your thing. That`s fine. Night at the Museum is not my type of thing. I didn`t find it funny. Like I didn`t find Stiller`s last movie Heartbreak Kid ,funny. The Farrelly Bors used to be funny as hell but this movie sucked. And for the record, Carrey, Brooks and Python are all hilarious. NATM was nothing like any of their movies.

WISEGUY562 • Dec 12, 2007, 09:19am •

I thought NATM was a fun movie but not necessarily funny. I would definitely check out a sequel.
sithtemple, I think you got the years confused. Indy comes out in 2008.

metalwater • Dec 12, 2007, 02:47pm •

Nightmare At The Museum should have been the title of that movie. It was horrible.

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