Ireland aswell. In recent years films have been released much closer to the USA date. I think most of this is due to piracy. If the studios wait a few months, then people will pirate it. Just look at the second Matrix film, that was released on the same date and same time in many countries. The sort of people who would watch The Matrix are the aort of people who are well able to pirate.

I believe this is another example of where piracy was a force for good (for the consumer) Another example is how many nonDRMed music is more easily purchasable, and many TV stations (eg BBC) have online 'watch yesterday's show' services.