The stage is set. Comicdom's most famous family, predating The Incredibles by several decades, is finally coming to screen, and it's harder to imagine a more perfect opening day than the American Independence Day, on July 4, for the big-screen incarnation of Fantastic Four.

However, it's not that easy to thwart the combined might of Steven Spielberg [Images], Tom Cruise [Images] and a certain H G Wells novel. The combination scared 20th Century Fox executives more than Dr Doom, and, in complete intimidation from the tremendous Paramount and Dreamworks project, they have decided to push the release date of Fantastic Four back by a week, to the less spinworthy July 8, reported Variety magazine.

Now, the July 4 holiday frame, one of Hollywood's most vital annual profit windows, has been cleared for War Of The Worlds. The film recieved a Superbowl television spot, and will be released on June 29, giving it a six-day opening run through Independence Day the following Monday.

Fantastic Four is now set to open against Sony's Bewitched, starring Nicole Kidman [Images] and Will Ferrell, and Universal's supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key, starring Kate Hudson [Images].