Studios marking their calendars for '07 releases

LOS ANGELES - The studios are already putting their markers on key dates in 2007.

DreamWorks Pictures has staked a claim on the Fourth of July weekend for director Michael Bay's live-action adaptation of Hasbro characters, "The Transformers."

In 2007, July 4 falls on a Wednesday. Most employers will require their employees to return to work for Thursday and Friday, and it's not yet clear how the midweek holiday will affect the grosses for the typical blockbuster holiday frame.

DreamWorks already has made plans to release "Shrek 3" on May 18, as well as the animated film "Bee Movie," starring the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger, on Nov. 2. Sony Pictures has laid claim to May 4 for "Spider-Man 3."

Yet to announce a specific date but also tentatively penciled in for 2007 is Warner Bros. Pictures' "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

- REUTERS / HOLLYWOOD REPORTER