Star Wars 8 vs Avatar 2: Who will win the biggest Hollywood box office battle of all time?

Fans who were waiting for the release of Star Wars 8 will have to wait a little longer as Walt Disney Studios has pushed the premiere date for the movie by seven months. The seventh movie of the blockbuster franchise has stormed the global box office with the premiere of The Force Awakens.

The eighth sequel was scheduled to premiere on 26 May 2017 but now the untitled movie will release on 15 December of the same year. This could mean that Star Wars fans need to wait for almost two years to see their favourite characters Luke Skywalker, Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren in action.

The original premiere slot (26 May) has now been allotted to Johnny Depp's Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The news was first broken by box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, which tweeted the recent developments. In its home turf US, TFA has earned more than $861m (£608m approximately). It has also earned $1.89bn globally becoming the third largest release ever. By pushing the release date to the holiday season, Disney is possibly aiming at similar or higher box office goals for the movie.

The biggest Hollywood war: The delayed premiere date will bring up an epic Hollywood box office battle as James Cameron's movie Avatar 2 will also be released in December 2017. Though the premiere dates for the movies are a week apart, both franchises are highly popular across the globe and are adored by their respective fans.

The clash between the movies will be huge for more than one reason. Star Wars, on one hand, has managed to keep fan expectations alive by taking the franchise to the next level, all thanks to JJ Abrams and Disney's clever marketing strategy of keeping the first look of Mark Hamill's Luke a secret. The compelling story telling of the previous film is an added advantage that has made fans want more from the eight sequel.

Even if the space odyssey has got all the numbers, the movie is yet to cross Avatar's earnings, which is the world's highest grossing movie ever made. Its creator, Cameron, is one of the top-rated movie directors/ producers of all times who also takes fair credit for sparking life in the century-old Titanic saga.

He is not an easy one to beat, at least with his upcoming sequel Avatar 2, which promises viewers the experience of time travel to a future in the mid-22nd century, not on Earth but on a distant planet called Pandora.

The box office battle might be tough for both the movie franchises, but it will surely be a treat for fans who get to enjoy two big Hollywood releases within a week.