Warner Bros Italy is pushing back the release date of South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut from May to June in an effort to establish year-round programming in Italy.

Warner will also release John Travolta sci-fi film Battlefield Earth and martial arts action picture Romeo Must Die in June and July, respectively.

Warner's decision comes on the heels of UIP's "Summer 2000" programme, which includes the European premiere of Mission: Impossible 2 in Italy on July 7, which Tom Cruise is expected to attend. Other high profile films that UIP is scheduled to release this summer are Gladiator and The Flinstones In Viva Rock Vegas.

UIP's box office success with The Mummy, released in Italy in August 1999, signalled a change in summer programming in Italy, which has traditionally seen the closure of most cinemas from the end of May through to the end of August. The increase of mutliplexes and renovated smaller theatres is another factor helping to draw in summer audiences.