Twentieth Century Fox has come under fire in Italy for moving the Italian release of "Independence Day: Resurgence" from its initial July 6 to a September 8 slot.
Exhibitors' organizations in Italy claim the move will have a strong negative impact on the country's summer box office intake, reported Variety.
Exhibitors' associations Anec and Anem have lamented that the initial release of "Independence Day: Resurgence" in July would have had "pulling power" for other summer releases and would have prompted the possibility of "offering audiences and theater owners a wide range of films for the entire summer season."
They claim that "various forms of protest" could follow if Fox does not cooperate on trying to do away with Italy's box office blues going forward.
Anec's president Luigi Cuciniello said in a statement, "'Independence Day' is our casus belli. It's obvious that we have no prejudice or ill will against Fox."
Luigi called the issue "a broader issue that concerns all distributors, starting with the majors" and "a negative signal which we have to raise awareness about."
Twentieth Century Fox Italy CEO Osvaldo De Santiis said the reason for the move was that he was offered the "unique possibility" to launch the "Independence Day" sequel in August from Rome's Terme di Caracalla Baths, customarily a venue for operas.
"We were offered this opportunity, which is a unique event that will get plenty of media attention. We considered this an opportunity we did not want to miss," Osvaldo explained.
Osvaldo maintained that in past years Fox had been very supportive of the summer season in Italy with "positive results" from Paul Feig's "Spy" and Cara Delevingne's "Paper Towns".
"Independence Day: Resurgence", starring Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A Fox, Brent Spiner, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher and Maika Monroe, is set to hit US theatres on June 24.
