Fox Pushes Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy Comedy to Heart of Summer

Paul Feig's The Heat -- starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy -- is getting primetime summer treatment.

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Fox is pushing the comedy's release back by nearly three months, from April 5 to June 28 -- the eve of the lucrative July 4th holiday. "The film is playing through the roof in test screenings," one studio insider says. (Watch the trailer above.)

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The decision to relocate The Heat also puts more distance between the film and Universal's upcoming comedy Identity Thief, pairing McCarthy with Jason Bateman. The Seth Gordon-directed movie opens Feb. 8.

In a twinned move, Fox Searchlight has taken the April 5 date for the release of Danny Boyle's British thriller Trance, starring James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel. The film opens March 27 in the U.K.

The Heat stars Bullock and McCarthy as wildly different FBI agents who set out to take down a Russian mobster. Bullock's character is straight laced, while McCarthy's is a loose cannon.

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Feig has become a hot commodity with the success of Bridesmaids. The female-fueled Universal comedy grossed $288.4 million worldwide.

In its new date, The Heat opens opposite Kick-Ass 2 and White House Down.

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