'Kung Fu Panda 3' Release Date Clashes With 'Stars Wars Episode 7' Premiere Date, Forces DreamWorks to Delay
DreamWorks Animation, along with partner 20th Century Fox, announced that they will be delaying the release of "Kung Fu Panda 3," moving it from December 2015 to March 2016.
DreamWorks and Fox changed their upcoming slate of movies in the wake of the release date of Director J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." With "Star Wars" set to hit theaters come Dec. 16, 2015, Fox made the decision to movie "Kung Fu Panda 3" from Dec. 23, 2015 to Mar. 18, 2016.
Chris Aronson, chief of Fox domestic distribution, said that the decision was due to them "constantly reevaluating the competitive landscape, as we do with all of our films."
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"Kung Fu Panda 3" is the third installment chronicling the adventures of Po the Panda, voiced by Jack Black, as he faces two epic threats, a supernatural one and another that hits close to home.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson returns from "Kung Fu Panda 2" and once again serving as director with Glenn Berger and Jonathan Aibel on board as writers.
In related news, in the wake of "Kung Fu Panda" taking up March 2016, DreamWorks will also have to move "Boss Baby," which is originally slated to be released on that day.
With all the moves, DreamWorks is left with only one 2015 theatrical release, which is Mar. 27's "Home."
DreamWorks also stated that there will be more changes in their lineup of films, especially after Marvel announced their slate of upcoming movies.
Sources are saying that DreamWorks will be delaying the June 2015 release of "B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherwordly Operations" because it comes out between Marvel's upcoming "Avengers: Age of Ultron" in May 2015and "Ant-Man" in July 2015. They will also be reportedly moving "Trolls," set for November 2016, because it clashes with Marvel's "Doctor Strange."
