The summer movie season of 2005 is nearly six months away, but studios are already poring over the release schedule, keeping a close eye on some potentially bruising collisions.

In keeping with the trend of past years, Hollywood has crammed the schedule with so many releases that, if you're still trying searching for a date for your blockbuster, the only open weekend left is Aug. 26.

The battles start in May, but the most closely watched game of release-date chicken comes over the July 4 weekend when Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise sci-fi pic War of the Worlds is skedded to open against comicbook adaptation The Fantastic Four.

We are fated to repeat history each year, says Sony vice chair Jeff Blake. From the beginning of May to the middle of August, there's a big opening every week.

Adds Disney distrib head Chuck Viane: It's absolutely as crowded as ever. And just like in the last few years, you're going to have a big picture or two each weekend -- if you're lucky.

Still, neither side is giving much ground in the battle between War and Four. Last April, Fox planted its flag on Fourth of July weekend for Fantastic Four. Then in August, Paramount announced it was co-producing with DreamWorks the Spielberg/Cruise collaboration War of the Worlds, which it would release on June 29, a Wednesday.

It's widely expected that one of those pics will move, but neither studio wants to be the one to blink first. If the two pics remain in place, it would make for a showdown not seen since Gremlins and Ghostbusters both opened June 8, 1984, to say nothing of the battle between The Perfect Storm and The Patriot over the Independence Day weekend in 2000.

Paramount recently unveiled a teaser for War, in part to raise public awareness of the pic and in part to signal to rival distribs that this is the sort of Spielberg pic to steer clear of.

But both Fox and Paramount have reason to believe the other studio will abandon the date. With War being produced on an extremely tight sked -- it only started lensing in November -- there are some doubts on the Fox lot about whether the f/x-heavy pic will be delivered on time.

Toon Madagascar bows on May 27, coming right after George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode III.

Source: Variety