Cars: According to The Hollywood Reporter, in a move that could better position Pixar Animation Studios in its upcoming negotiations with potential distribution partners, the Emeryville, Calif.-based studio said Tuesday that its upcoming film Cars will be postponed from its planned November release to a June 2006 bow.

The announcement was made jointly with Pixar's current partner, Walt Disney Pictures. The date change immediately triggered a flurry of other moves as Disney's Buena Vista Distribution arm shifted its CG-animated feature Chicken Little from a summer slot to Nov. 4.

Sony Pictures also chose to move its upcoming Legend of Zorro from a late September slot to a November date. Pixar and Disney explained that moving Cars to June 9, 2006, would allow them to take full advantage of the large summer moviegoing audience, followed by the lucrative holiday DVD market.

Pixar CEO Steve Jobs has spoken previously of wanting to shift Pixar's release schedules to take advantage of the summer moviegoing/holiday DVD sales dynamic.

Cars was released June 9th, 2006 and stars Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry The Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, Guido Quaroni, Jenifer Lewis. The film is directed by John Lasseter, Joe Ranft.