20th Century Fox is moving the release date for James Cameron's 3D science fiction film Avatar (no relation to the Nick property, see 'It's 'Avatar,' not 'Alita'') from May to December 18th, 2009.  The move is being made to allow more time for post-production, and moves the film to release on the same weekend on which Cameron's Titanic premiered twelve years earlier in 1997.    

There are such high expectations for Avatar, which will undoubtedly spawn an array of licensed products, that another high-profile 3D film had moved its dates to avoid competition for the limited number of 3D screens available (see ''Monsters vs. Aliens' Moves to March').    

In the same announcement, Fox also revealed that Ice Age 3, due out on July 1, 2009, will be produced in digital 3D.