A mutant superhero is no match for the swine flu that has killed up to 149 people in Mexico.

Hollywood movie studio 20th Century Fox said on Monday it was scrapping plans to release "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the first big movie of the summer, in Mexico this weekend.

A spokesman for the News Corp-owned studio said the Hugh Jackman action movie would probably be delayed by a couple of weeks.

The outbreak has forced Mexico's top movie-theater chains to shut down dozens of cinemas throughout the nation's capital, part of a push by authorities to limit large public gatherings that could facilitate the spread of the disease.

"Wolverine" is still on schedule to open virtually everywhere else in the world this weekend. The following weekend, "Star Trek" flies into 50 markets, including Mexico. A spokeswoman for the film's Viacom Inc-owned distributor, Paramount Pictures, was not immediately available to comment on a possible new release date.

(CRI/Agencies April 28, 2009)