Why are blockbusters opening overseas first?

You may not have noticed yet, but you will soon. There is a new trend in the Hollywood release schedule. The Avengers, Piranha 3DD, Fast Five, Thor, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Battleship, and the upcoming James Bond movie Skyfall. What do each of these films have in common? They are opening overseas weeks before we get a chance to see them here in the U.S.

I did some digging and the driving force is simple and not surprising: money. Historically the United States has always premiered the big, popcorn movies first. Over the last decade or so things have changed and Hollywood has noticed. Take the D.O.A. picture Battleship, which I won’t even be renting it looks so awful. The film opened this weekend stateside, but has been out for over a month in many European…