Those damn dirty apes are shifting release dates once again. 20th Century Fox has moved Rise of the Apes from the Thanksgiving slot on November 23 up to August 5.

We reported in January that Rise of the Apes was moving from its June 24 date to November 23, where it would have opened against The Muppets. Rise of the Apes will now go up against the Universal Pictures comedy The Change-Up and Summit Entertainment's The Darkest Hour. The CGI/live-action hybrid comedy The Smurfs gets a Wednesday release on August 3. James Franco and Freida Pinto star in Rise of the Apes, with Andy Serkis portraying the ape Caesar using motion-capture technology.

To accommodate the change, Fox has also moved its Jonah Hill comedy The Sitter out of the August 5 frame to December 9. It will be the only R-rated comedy opening in December, going up against Garry Marshall's holiday-themed romantic comedy New Year's Eve.