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 phim hoạt hình chief creative officer, John Lasseter, đã đưa ý kiến in an interview at the time.
Disney also announced release plans for several other phim chiếu rạp Monday.
A fifth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie will arrive in theaters on July 10, 2015. The studio has yet to xác nhận a director hoặc which cast members will return, though it is difficult to imagine a "Pirates" movie without ngôi sao Johnny Depp.
"The Muppets 2" will come out March 21, 2014.
"1952," a science-fiction film to be directed bởi "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 ngày 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 phim chiếu rạp helps to fill out Disney's 2014 and 2015 schedule that was previously light on tentpoles from the studio's internal production unit -- though phim chiếu rạp from Marvel Studios and its phim hoạt hình houses were already set for release.
Disney has canceled plans to re-release "The Little Mermaid" in 3-D. (Walt Disney Pictures)
