DARK PHOENIX moves from February 14 to June 7, 2019.

One day following the release of 20th Century Fox’s highly-anticipated trailer for DARK PHOENIX came news that the film has been moved to June 7, 2019 from it’s previous February 14, 2019 date. A shocking move for those having just watched the trailer which featured the Valentine’s Day date.

There appears to be a few potential reasons for the move. According to Hollywood insiders, Fox is waiting to open day-and-date worldwide with China, a major market for the box office. Another possible reason is that visual effects crew need more time to complete work on the film; specially the recently spotted scene being filmed with stars Sophie Turner and Jessica Chastain in motion-capture suits.

Fox also moved their upcoming sci-fi picture Alita: Battle Angel to Phoenix’s original spot, a move which will prove more beneficial as it was up against DC superhero Aquaman and the Transformer’s Bumblebee. In fact, might this be the reason for the surprising shuffle to begin with?

Releasing on June 7 is still a prime real estate in Summer 2019. Dark Phoenix will only face competition from children’s film The Secret Life of Pets 2 in the same weekend. The week prior sees the release of Godzilla: King of Monsters and the week after is the Men in Black spin-off. The week after? Disney’s Toy Story 4.