Disney/Marvel has moved the date of Ant-Man to July 17, 2015.
The date was previously the domain of Warner Bros. untitled Batman-Superman movie but last week Warners moved the tentpole to May 6, 2016, the same date claimed by Disney for an unnamed Marvel movie.
Ant-Man was previously set to open July 31, 2015 and, with the move to two weeks earlier, it now will face off with Warners big-budget Peter Pan origin movie titled Pan. That movie is being directed by Joe Wright and will star Hugh Jackman. Garrett Hedlund received an offer Wednesday to also star in the movie.
Warners has long enjoyed the mid-July berth, releasing movies such as Inception, The Dark Knight and a few of the Harry Potters, among others. The dates are seen as prime moviegoing territory and give films a few weeks of space before a traditional slowdown in August.
Paramount released Marvel's Captain America: First Avenger on July 22, 2011 and the film debuted to a strong $65 million.
Edgar Wright is directing Ant-Man, which is in full-on casting mode. The movie will star Paul Rudd as the hero, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, inventor of the shrinking technology, and Michael Pena in an undisclosed role.
