Studios delay several big films in Mexico for flu

* Mexico City theaters closed as key summer season starts

* Mexico ranks in top 10 of non-U.S. movie markets

* "Harry Potter" Mexico release still set for mid-July

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES, April 30 (Reuters) - Several major Hollywood studios are delaying the release of big-budget summer movies in Mexico due to the influenza outbreak in that country, a key market for U.S. films, the distributors said on Thursday.

Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group announced a four-week postponement in Mexico of the religious thriller "Angels & Demons," starring Tom Hanks, from May 15 to June 12, and said it will push back "Terminator Salvation" by eight weeks, from June 5 to July 31, because of the swine flu situation.

"We have been closely monitoring the situation in Mexico all week and we continue to be extremely concerned about this health crisis and its impact on the people who live there," the Sony Corp-owned (6758.T) studio said in a statement.

Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) also plans to indefinitely postpone its Mexico release of "Star Trek," and 20th Century Fox, owned by News Corp (NWSA.O), said earlier this week it would delay its Mexico opening of the superhero adventure "Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman.

Public health officials have ordered all movie theaters in Mexico City closed to help contain the virus in the capital. Mexico's government also has asked bars, restaurants and other public establishments and workplaces to shut down throughout the country, but it is not clear how many have complied.