"The Pink Panther" has been restored to MGM's summer release schedule after testing well with preview audiences, Daily Variety said Friday.

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The remake of the Peter Sellers comedy classic -- starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau -- was originally scheduled for a July 22 release, but had been moved to Sept. 23. MGM Distribution President Erik Lomis told Variety the plan now is to open the picture Aug 5.

"We looked at the picture again, and it screened very well," he said. "We saw an opportunity to get it back into the summer where all age groups are available seven days a week, so we took it."

When it opens Aug. 5, "The Pink Panther" will be up against Warner Bros.' "The Dukes of Hazzard," Universal's Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's video-game adaptation "Doom," and an as-yet-untitled futuristic comedy featuring Luke Wilson as an intelligent man in a stupid world.