Why is Independence Day: Resurgence not released on July 4th?

Question

Seeing how Independece Day: Resurgence (and its precursor) famously plays with the cultural significance of the US American Independence Day, it seems odd that it isn't actually released on or around the actual Independence Day (July 4th), rather than around June 24th.

Now, of course it's not necessary or even usual for each movie to be released on an exact day significant to its story. But seeing what a prominent role the 4th of July plays for the film and its themes (let alone its title to begin with) and that such release dates have been done in the past (including most importantly the first movie, which was released on July 3rd in the US, or even films with much less clear connections to the release date), this seems like a missed marketing opportunity.

Wikipedia only says that the release date originally was indeed the 3rd of July 2015 but was later changed to July 2016 and then to 24th of June. It wouldn't even have needed to be the exact date, but 10 days in advance just seems like a missed opportunity that I can't believe the marketing department to have been entirely oblivious to. So is there any official information (or at least reasonably-backed deduction) what the actual reasons were for not releasing the film on or around the 4th of July or if this marketing idea was even considered at all?

Answer 1

Simply put it is because of the competition from other movies.

There is also a page here with the exact same question and they arrive to the same conclusions:

Fox isn't speaking out on why the sequel to Independence Day is shuffling to June. So let's take a look at what could be the reason. First off might be helmer Roland Emmerich, who is nowhere near the draw he once was...

While Emmerich's shaky filmography could be a factor, what's more likely is that Fox has realized how stacked with releases July 1st, 2016 has become. That very weekend will see the release of Angry Birds, an animated movie based on the popular video game. Competing with this family friendly cartoon will be Buena Vista's adventure The BFG, an adaptation of the Roald Dahl book adapted by blockbuster god Steven Spielberg. Lastly, Warner Bros swings in with its big-budget, live-action adventure Tarzan...

Maybe this combo was too much for Fox. Now, Independence Day 2 gets a jump on all three.

Answer 2

Probably to avoid a tough competition since on Jul 1, there will be 4 new movies with a nation wide releases and at Jul 8, 2 movies, one of them is "The Secret Life of Pets" which is predicted to be one of the biggest movies this summer.

Answer 3

Presumably, some people will be interested in seeing the movie on July 4th. People who see the movie on another day will be seeing the movie before or after July 4th.

It is probably best for them to see the movie before July 4th. As the weather warms up in June, people can be thinking forward about how great July 4th is. By releasing the movie early, people can remember past good experiences, and can be looking forward to July 4th, and choose to see the movie while they have that optimistic good mood in life.

On the other hand, if they happen to really have a lousy July 4th this year, then they may be much less inclined to do anything that reminds them of how bad July 4th can be.

Take another example: Home Alone (the first movie). It had a Christmas setting throughout the entire movie. I remember thinking that it helped me to feel the spirit of Christmas, and get into a Christmasy mood that year. If they released on on December 25th, they would have had just one week before the official end of the holiday season (January 1st) when people start packing up their family's Christmas decorations, and people start thinking of "moving on" to the next stage in life ("let's look forward to Spring time!").

It's better to beat the holiday, than to follow it.