"Monsters" joins the 3-D invasion in May 2009

By Carolyn Giardina

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" has been slated for domestic release May 15, 2009, a week earlier than previously announced.

"Monsters vs. Aliens" -- now confirmed as the official title -- will be the first DreamWorks Animation film produced in stereoscopic 3-D. It is described as a reinvention of the classic 1950s monster movie into an irreverent modern-day action comedy.

Directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman, the film is in production and will be distributed domestically by Paramount Pictures.

May 2009 is shaping up to be a crowded month for tentpole releases -- and 3-D. James Cameron's 3-D stereoscopic film "Avatar" is slated for May 22, which was the planned release date for "Monsters." And Walt Disney Pictures' "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" opens May 1.

With two anticipated 3-D stereoscopic films set to debut during the frame, the digital-cinema community is watching this release window. Joshua Greer, president and co-founder of 3-D provider Real D, said his company is on track to have 4,000 3-D-ready digital-cinema screens installed in the U.S. by May 2009, though that number might increase.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter