After looking at the box office monster that STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was this past December, you would need to have your head examined as a studio in order to take any sizable movie that you've invested a lot of money into and put it head-to-head with anything STAR WARS on the same release date. Luckily for Warner Bros., we can cancel their examination appointment.
Knowing that, even with Steven Spielberg in tow, they'd be doomed against STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII, Warner Bros. has chosen to shift the director's adaptation of READY PLAYER ONE out of its initial December 15, 2017 release date and into a more cozy slot where it won't be massacred – March 30, 2018.
As it stands now, Spielberg's take on the popular Ernie Cline novel will open on Easter weekend, right around when most kids are out of school on break, and also falls after the Winter Olympics and before the World Cup, giving it some open space to run free and not have to worry about global distractions that could hurt its audience.
Well played, Warner Bros.