Diamond Comic Distributors has released the results of a poll of comic book retailers to determine the date of Free Comic Book Day in 2005 (see 'Retailers Voting on Free Comic Book Day Date').  By a margin of nearly three-to-one, retailers chose May 7th over June 18th, tying the promotion to the start of the summer selling season rather than to the premier of a major comic book film (Batman Begins debuts on June 17th). 

The first two Free Comic Book Days, although tied to the releases of the Spider-Man and X2 films, were held in May, while 2004's edition was moved to the July 4th weekend to coincide with the release of Spider-Man 2.  Although many factors undoubtedly played a role in the retailers' decision to move back to May, storeowners obviously feel that the event is strong enough on its own merits to stand by itself.