door Ben Fritz
January 14, 2013, 12:45 p.m.
Following weak box office performances for re-releases of "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "Beauty and the Beast" in 3-D, Walt Disney Studios has canceled plans for a 3-D "The Little Mermaid" in September.
The underwater animated hit from 1989 was the fourth and final 3-D re-release for which Disney announced plans in late 2011 after "The Lion King" proved a surprise hit in the format, grossing nearly $100 million in the U.S. and Canada.
But "The Lion King" turned out to be an anomaly, as the three follow-ups grossed far less. "Beauty and the Beast" took in $47.6 million last January, "Finding Nemo" $40.7 million in September, and "Monsters, Inc." only $30.5 million since its Dec. 19 release.
Though 3-D conversions cost only a few million dollars each, those weak box office performances are not enough for Disney to justify the marketing expense of a nationwide release.
Disney had already begun work on the 3-D conversion of "The Little Mermaid" in November, the studio's animatie chief creative officer, John Lasseter, zei in an interview at the time.
Disney also announced release plans for several other films Monday.
A fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie will arrive in theaters on July 10, 2015. The studio has yet to bevestig a director of which cast members will return, though it is difficult to imagine a "Pirates" movie without ster Johnny Depp.
"The Muppets 2" will come out March 21, 2014.
"1952," a science-fiction film to be directed door "The Incredibles" and "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" helmer Brad Bird, is set to hit theaters on Dec. 19, 2014, in 3-D.
"Maleficent," which stars Angelina Jolie as the villain in a live action spin-off from the animated classic "Sleeping Beauty," has been delayed from March 14, 2014, to July 2 of that year. The new datum is five days after the fourth "Transformers" movie, setting up a battle of big-budget tentpoles over the July 4 holiday.
The dating of the new films helps to fill out Disney's 2014 and 2015 schedule that was previously light on tentpoles from the studio's internal production unit -- though films from Marvel Studios and its animatie houses were already set for release.
January 14, 2013, 12:45 p.m.
Following weak box office performances for re-releases of "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "Beauty and the Beast" in 3-D, Walt Disney Studios has canceled plans for a 3-D "The Little Mermaid" in September.
The underwater animated hit from 1989 was the fourth and final 3-D re-release for which Disney announced plans in late 2011 after "The Lion King" proved a surprise hit in the format, grossing nearly $100 million in the U.S. and Canada.
But "The Lion King" turned out to be an anomaly, as the three follow-ups grossed far less. "Beauty and the Beast" took in $47.6 million last January, "Finding Nemo" $40.7 million in September, and "Monsters, Inc." only $30.5 million since its Dec. 19 release.
Though 3-D conversions cost only a few million dollars each, those weak box office performances are not enough for Disney to justify the marketing expense of a nationwide release.
Disney had already begun work on the 3-D conversion of "The Little Mermaid" in November, the studio's animatie chief creative officer, John Lasseter, zei in an interview at the time.
Disney also announced release plans for several other films Monday.
A fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie will arrive in theaters on July 10, 2015. The studio has yet to bevestig a director of which cast members will return, though it is difficult to imagine a "Pirates" movie without ster Johnny Depp.
"The Muppets 2" will come out March 21, 2014.
"1952," a science-fiction film to be directed door "The Incredibles" and "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" helmer Brad Bird, is set to hit theaters on Dec. 19, 2014, in 3-D.
"Maleficent," which stars Angelina Jolie as the villain in a live action spin-off from the animated classic "Sleeping Beauty," has been delayed from March 14, 2014, to July 2 of that year. The new datum is five days after the fourth "Transformers" movie, setting up a battle of big-budget tentpoles over the July 4 holiday.
The dating of the new films helps to fill out Disney's 2014 and 2015 schedule that was previously light on tentpoles from the studio's internal production unit -- though films from Marvel Studios and its animatie houses were already set for release.