The Wolf Pack is getting a jumpstart on the party while Steven Spielberg's dino-powered franchise will have to wait a little longer before it's big-screen resurrection.
Looking to capitalize on the extended Memorial Day weekend, Warner Bros. confirms to E! News that The Hangover Part III will be opening in theaters on Thursday, May 23, a day earlier than originally scheduled.
The move means the final romp in Todd Phillips' R-rated comedy trilogy, which reunites castmembers Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, will have a head start against Universal's Fast & Furious 6, which hits theaters Friday. The two tentpoles both skew heavily male, which ought to make for an interesting race at the box office.
The only other notable film unspooling that weekend is Fox's family-friendly 3-D animated flick Epic, about a teenage girl (voiced by Amanda Seyfried) who finds herself in a magical forest world, caught in a battle between good and evil forces.
Meanwhile in a setback for Universal's future slate, Universal has confirmed that it's delaying its eagerly awaited Jurassic Park 4 from June 13, 2014 to an unspecified later date.
"In coordination with filmmakers, Universal has decided to release Jurassic Park 4 at a later date giving the studio and filmmakers adequate time to bring audiences the best possible version of the fourth installment in Universal's beloved franchise," said the studio in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Newly hired director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed), producer Frank Marshall and their team had been eyeing a June 24 start for principal photography. But sources close to the production told the trade Universal execs only received the draft of the screenplay two days ago.
That prompted additional budgeting and the decision to postpone to ensure the film delivers the goods given the relative letdown that was 2001's Jurassic Park III, which grossed $368 million worldwide compared to Jurassic Park: The Lost World's global tally of $618 million.
(E! and Universal are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)